


Nature of the Beast

by just_another_outcast



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Creepy Murdoc (MacGyver TV 2016), Gen, Hurt Angus Macgyver (Macgyver 2016), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Mac Whump, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Murdoc, Protective Jack Dalton (MacGyver 2016), Spoiler Alert - Freeform, Suspense, Werewolf AU, Werewolf Cage, Werewolf Jack, Werewolf Mac, Werewolf Matty, Werewolf Murdoc, Werewolf Turning, but he gets turned, it never gets graphic at all, well not at first, werewolf Riley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2019-10-18 15:20:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17583332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_another_outcast/pseuds/just_another_outcast
Summary: The Phoenix Foundation is the most covert agency of the US government, tasked with hunting rogue werewolf threats around the world. It's run by werewolves themselves, because who better to catch a werewolf than a werewolf? But Mac has always been human, and has no desire to change that. Too bad an alpha werewolf psychopath doesn't care, and wants Mac to be his, and his alone.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [UndeadOctopus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndeadOctopus/gifts).



> At long last, here is my werewolf AU!!! This first chapter is like half info-dump, so I apologize for that. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

Mac sighed in contentment as he relaxed back into the couch onboard the Phoenix jet. Another mission was complete, and it was a walk in the park. A budding terrorist group in Eastern Europe had been thwarted, and all of their members had been taken into custody. They would soon be taken to an off the books prison designed specifically for werewolves. That's what the Phoenix Foundation did. Most people thought it was just a think tank, but that was just a cover. It was really a top secret organization that dealt with werewolf threats all around the world. Most werewolves were peaceful, but if they weren't, they could wreak some serious havoc. That's why the foundation existed, to discreetly take care of those threats before the world found out about werewolves. That couldn't happen. The hunters that were out there didn't distinguish between the werewolves that just lived their lives and caused no harm, and the ones that slaughtered others.

Mac smiled at his partner on the opposite couch, completely tearing apart the steak he'd snagged before boarding. Maybe others would think that Jack was dangerous, just because of what he was, but Mac knew the truth. Jack was fearless, and he would protect others with his life, but without reason, he wouldn't hurt a fly. He came from a long line of werewolves, and had learned to control the shift from a very young age. He could even, on occasion, turn himself into a full wolf. He was that powerful. It was incredibly rare that a werewolf could do that. Mac had never met another wolf who could. There were legends, of course, but they were really that rare. That just proved how incredibly pure Jack's bloodline was. It was incredible, and there was no one on earth that Mac trusted more. Their partnership may have started out rough, but once they were actually friends, it wasn't long before Mac found out the truth.

He'd been disarming an IED, not even a major one, so it was just a normal Monday for him in Afghanistan. He had run off ahead of Jack, which wasn't unusual, even though it was dangerous. Jack had been trying to get some meat from a civilian vendor, and Mac hadn't wanted to wait for him when they had perfectly good MREs with them. That impatience almost cost him his life. He was disarming the IED, and not really paying much attention to his surroundings. He had to stop when he felt the barrel of a gun against his neck. Setting his SAK down, Mac carefully stood, his hands raised in surrender. The Taliban soldier spun him around and forced his back against the wall. Mac's eyes widened as he saw the man's face change in front of him. The man snarled, and his teeth grew long and sharp, his hair and ears and nose grew, his brows came almost together, and his eyes were glowing.

But then another snarl came from the left, and a Jack-shaped blur knocked the Taliban soldier to the ground. Mac just stood where he was, watching in fear, as Jack lifted up his hand, which now featured claws, and tore out the throat of the man who'd been about to kill him. Jack turned to him, and he looked just like that terrorist had, with elongated features, sharp fangs, and glowing eyes. Mac blinked quickly and pushed himself as far into the wall as he could. His overwatch looked just like a werewolf. But then he didn't, and as quickly as before, his face changed back to normal.

"Mac, it's okay, I promise," he said. He gently lifted up his hands, now without claws, but covered in blood. Mac looked back at the man on the ground. He was dead, with blood everywhere. Jack had ripped out his throat, with his bare hands.

"You- you're- you're-" he stuttered, he couldn't say it.

"I'm a werewolf, yes. So was he," Jack said. He slowly stood up, and made his way carefully towards Mac. "I'm not gonna hurt you, kid. I know this is scary, but I'm still me, and I'm still the same overwatch you've always known."

It had taken a few days, but things slowly went back to normal, and they were even closer. Mac began asking Jack questions about it, and soon enough, Mac knew almost as much about werewolves as Jack, who had been one since the day he was born. Visiting his family back in Texas with him for the first time had been both cool and freaky, but Mac loved it. He'd been quickly immersed in the werewolf culture, and had been immediately accepted into the Dalton pack. It was a long time before he met another violent werewolf.

Joining up with the Phoenix Foundation was what changed that. Every single person who worked there was a werewolf, aside from Mac himself, because who better to take down rogue werewolves than other werewolves? It had taken a lot of pulled strings on Jack's part, but since Jack had been personally sought out by the director, Matty Webber, he'd gotten to have a couple extra strings to pull. He agreed to become an agent on the condition that Mac got to as well, since he knew just as much about werewolves as any actual werewolf did, and he had such an incredible talent for improvising that could prove incredibly valuable in the field. Matty had really distrusted him at first, but they were good now, and three years later, here they were.

Also on his team was Riley Davis, a hacker two years older than him who was half werewolf. Her father was one, but her mother wasn't. Since Elwood had been a deadbeat her whole childhood, she'd never learned how to properly control the shift. Her mother was completely unable to help. That's where Jack came in. When he met her, she was struggling teenager who constantly was getting into trouble. But Jack taught her everything, and now, she could control the shift as well as anyone. She'd never be as powerful as a fullblood born werewolf like Jack, but she was formidable in her own right.

Matty was bitten when she was a senior in college, at a party. She ended up killing the werewolf who bit her, and quickly became feared in the werewolf world. People often underestimated her because of her height, but she was not a woman - or wolf - to be trifled with.

At this point, most of the people Mac knew were werewolves, with one glaring exception: his roommate. Bozer wasn't a wolf, and he had no idea that they existed. That couldn't be allowed to change. That was the biggest stipulation of allowing Mac to work at Phoenix. If Bozer ever found out because of Mac, well, he didn't really know what would happen, but it wouldn't be good.

There were plenty of agents at Phoenix who didn't care that Mac wasn't a wolf, but there were also plenty who really did. When he had first started working there, there were a few werewolves who didn't appreciate Mac being there at all, and felt that if he were going to be working there, then he should be a wolf too. There had been a few close calls where they had taken advantage of their superior strength, and held Mac down. Their fangs were mere inches away from him when Jack burst through the door and put a stop to it. At first, Matty didn't do much in terms of punishment for those agents, because she sort of agreed with them. But, Jack had said he would quit if nothing was done, and that was that. Throughout the Phoenix Foundation building, Jack wouldn't let Mac go anywhere by himself until he was sure that no one else was going to try to turn him by force. It had been two years since the last incident, but Jack still tried to always be with Mac in the building all the time. It was annoying for a while, but Mac became so used to it that it no longer bothered him. After all, protecting Mac was a major part of Jack's job description.

Sitting there on that jet, with his team around him, Mac couldn't help but smile. He and Jack had come so far since their first meeting, and his life had completely turned upside down, but Mac wouldn't change it for the world.

"Does it at least taste good?" he asked his partner. Jack had to eat more meat than any human, and more than any werewolf that wasn't born of pureblood. He was still devouring his steak. It wasn't like he was tearing it apart with his claws and fangs, but he was very aggressive with his fork and knife. If Mac was being honest, it kind of reminded him of that scene in The Incredibles were Bob Parr cuts the plate in the half with his super strength because he was so forceful with the knife. No matter what, it always made Mac smile.

"Not really, but it hits the spot anyway," Jack answered with a smile. While he was in human form, everything tasted the same as it did to normal humans, and that meant that unseasoned meat wasn't that good. But, his body still needed it, and Jack had no patience for hunger whatsoever. "And before you say anything, I'm too hungry to wait for a burger when we land."

Mac just chuckled, and turned back to the other wolf on the team. Riley was rolling her eyes, but wisely staying out of the conversation. As only a half-wolf, she didn't need as much meat as Jack, and she was just a more patient person when it came to hunger in general.

"I don't know about you guys," Riley said. "But I am so excited to sleep in my own bed." She let her head fall to the back of the seat with a small thud, and closed her eyes with a smile.

They hadn't slept in their own beds in a long time. Matty had been sending them off on mission after mission for the last two weeks. It was the longest Mac had been away from home since his time in the Army, and there was only so long that he could tell Bozer his business trip kept getting extended. He needed to get home, or Bozer was going to figure out that something was off.

"Yes! I miss my Telly Savalas painting," Jack exclaimed around a mouthful of meat.

"Jack, please swallow before you try to talk to us," Riley replied, rolling her eyes in disgust. "I don't need to see that. Neither of us need to see that."

"She's right," Mac added with a smirk.

"Does it look like I care?" Jack said, making sure to keep food in his mouth while he talked. Riley groaned and turned completely away from him. Jack just let out small laugh.

"Just be happy we'll be home in a few hours."

And home in a few hours they were. The rest of the flight was spent relaxing, watching bad werewolf movies. Critiquing their flaws was one of the team's favorite pastimes. They couldn't do it around Bozer, because even though he loved the movies, he couldn't understand how they all knew so much about werewolves.

"See you guys tomorrow!" Mac called out with a wave as he made his way into his Jeep, right where he left it two weeks earlier. Matty needed them bright and early the next morning for another briefing. Jack and Riley both waved back, and got into their respective cars. It was good to be back in LA, despite the terrible traffic. Mac just enjoyed the pleasant air and looked forward to the welcome home dinner he was sure Bozer would prepare for him the next night. At this point of the day, Bozer should be cleaning up the kitchen.

It was a full moon that night, and on most full moons, the team stayed together. It was easier for them to ignore the pull of the moon if they were distracted by hanging out with good friends. But on this night, they were all too exhausted to do anything, and exhaustion was as good a distraction as any. Mac wasn't worried about his team. Both Jack and Riley had been successfully dealing with the full moon long before he ever met them, so really, there was no reason to worry. There really wasn't.

Upon arriving at his house he shared with Bozer, Mac once again couldn't contain his smile. He really had missed his roommate, and he couldn't wait to see him, despite all the questions he would have to make up answers for. That was the most stressful part about having to lie to him every day. Each question needed an answer that wasn't only believable, but easy to come up with. Mac had always been good on the fly, but still, lying to Bozer wasn't something he enjoyed in the slightest.

Mac breathed in the familiar smell of his house as he walked through the front door, setting his bags down. He could hear Bozer at the sink. It really was good to be home.

"Bozer!" he called out. He had missed him so much. Anyone who said people always outgrew their childhood friends was a moron.

"Mac!" he heard from the kitchen. He made his way over. Bozer was at the sink, washing some pots and pans. "You're back!"

"Yeah, I thought it might be a nice surprise," Mac said with a smile.

Bozer finished drying his hands off on the dish towel and turned towards his friend. He took one large step towards Mac and quickly enveloped him in a massive hug. It was so sudden that Mac couldn't hide his gasp of pain from his battered and cracked ribs. Werewolves could hit really hard.

"What's wrong?" Bozer rushed out, immediately letting go of him. "What happened? Are you okay?" He looked at Mac with eyes full of concern.

"Yeah, Boze, I'm fine," Mac replied, waving his hand as if nothing was wrong at all. After all, he couldn't tell Bozer that he'd taken some pretty bad slashes to the ribs from werewolf claws, and some kicks that cracked bone on top of that, also courtesy of a werewolf. Mac resisted shaking his head in disdain. Werewolf terrorists were the worst. "I didn't want to worry you, but there was a minor car accident while I was in Cleveland. I'm fine, I promise." Bozer didn't look convinced. "Do you honestly think Jack would've let me out of his sight if I wasn't fine?" That had Bozer conceding with a nod. "I promise it only hurts with direct pressure on it."

"Okay, alright," Bozer replied with a sigh, holding up his hands in defeat. "But still, that shirt is filthy and you need to change. What even is that? Is that blood?" Bozer grabbed the bottom of Mac's shirt and lifted it up just a bit, just enough so he could see it. Mac quickly stepped back and pulled away.

"Yeah, it's not mine. Some kid had a nosebleed and ran into me in the airport. No big deal," he replied with a shrug. But Mac was mentally cursing himself. In his haste to get inside and see his friend, he had forgotten to change out of a shirt that had a little bit of blood, and a lot of dirt on it.

"And what's all that dirt from?" Bozer asked, his eyebrows raised. It was clear that he knew Mac wasn't being honest with him.

"Jack and I were messing around and I fell, that's all," he said, starting to slowly back away more. He needed to exit the conversation before Bozer grew even more suspicious.

"Except Jack would never mess around with you enough to let you fall when you have hurt ribs." This was exactly why Mac hated having to come up with excuses for things. "Mac, what's going on? Let me see your ribs." Bozer moved forward again and grabbed Mac's shirt. Mac tried to move away, but he was trapped against the counter.

"Bozer, stop, it's fine!" He tried to shove Bozer's hands away, but his roommate was determined. Mac could see the exact moment that Bozer realized something was very wrong. His eyes went wider than Mac had ever seen them, and he slowly stepped back as his eyes went up to meet Mac's gaze.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, his eyes still wide.

Mac shoved his shirt back down, covering up the bandages wrapped around his ribs that he knew had blood on them.

"I'm fine, I promise," Mac said, trying to avoid the question. It didn't work.

"You said that already," Bozer deadpanned. "I asked you what the hell happened, because you don't get slashes like that from a minor car accident."

Mac didn't know what to say. There was nothing he could say. Bozer knew he was lying, but he was completely unable to tell him the truth, for his own protection. It wasn't fair, but that was the life.

"I'm going for a run," Mac said in place of an answer, swiftly turning on his heels and quickly making his way to his room. He ignored Bozer yelling after him, and shut the door. He breathed in for four seconds, then let it out for four seconds. It was a trick that Jack had taught him that often helped him to calm down. He didn't know what he was going to do. Bozer was going to ask again, and he would only take being lied to so many times before he completely snapped. Mac had a feeling that was going to happen sooner rather than later.

He quickly changed and made his way back outside, once again ignoring Bozer shouting at him. He hated doing that to his friend, but what else was he supposed to do? He couldn't tell him the truth without endangering him, but lying was almost worse. A nice run in the beautiful night air would help to clear his mind. His ribs protested just a little bit, but Mac was easily able to run through the pain.

Soon enough, Mac was on a beautiful, deserted trail that wove through a forest. The path was cement and wide, so there was no danger of tripping on anything. Mac thought of nothing but the smell of the woods, and the sounds of the bugs at night. It really was beautiful.

Mac stopped in his path when he saw something run across the trail ahead of him. It was huge, and dark, and Mac knew better than to go anywhere near it, especially at night, when he was alone and had nothing with him to defend himself. Something that big didn't belong in that area of California, so there was a good chance it would become hostile if suddenly confronted. Mac stood there for another minute, just looking around for it. He couldn't see it anywhere. Was he so stressed about Bozer that he imagined it?

Just as Mac was about to chalk it up to his imagination, he was taken off his feet by something coming at him from the left. He immediately tried to curl up to protect his already battered ribs, and held his hands out to defend himself. It was then that he got a good look at what he was defending himself from. It was a wolf, a giant, black wolf, with glowing red eyes and fangs and claws longer than any Mac had ever seen. They were jagged, but looked sharp at every point. Mac tried to push it off by shoving against its trachea, but to no avail. This wolf was stronger than any wolf had any reason to be. It snarled - a disgusting, guttural sound that sent chills down Mac's spine - and lunged its teeth towards Mac's shoulder, right below his neck. Mac couldn't help but scream in pain as the animal dug its teeth deeper and deeper into him. He thrashed beneath it, trying to get it off him, but it was stone. Nothing would move it.

Finally, the beast let go and ran away as quickly as it had snuck up on him. Mac was still on the ground, bleeding heavily. He needed to call 911, he needed Jack. He really needed Jack, especially if that thing was what he thought it was. There were no wild wolves in LA, especially not monster wolves with the strength of ten men and glowing red eyes.

His hand shaking, Mac pulled his phone from his arm strap, and tapped Jack's name. As per usual, the man picked up on the first ring.

"Hey, kid, what's up? I'm just about to hit the sack," he said. He sounded normal, but tired. The full moon hadn't affected him at all.

"Jack, I- I think-" he stuttered. He couldn't say it. He couldn't say he'd been bitten by a werewolf, even though that was exactly what had happened. "I need help."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit longer between updates than should be normal, but my level of work with school is constantly changing, so I can't guarantee anything. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

The moment Jack heard the hitch in Mac's voice, all of his senses were on high alert.

"Where are you? I'm coming to get you," Jack said while putting his boots on. It didn't matter that it was the full moon and he really shouldn't be out in its light if he had a choice. This was his kid in trouble, and he was going to be there for him.

"But, the moon-"

"Don't worry about it, kid, I've been dealing with the moon since the night I was born. It'll be okay." He was grabbing his keys and walking out the door. "Now tell me where you are, and what happened?" he asked again. He was halfway down the stairwell and was already remotely unlocking his car.

"I'm down the trail by- by my house. Bozer and I- we- we fought, so I went for a run-" Mac stopped again with a choked off gasp of pain. Jack stopped where he was.

"Mac, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Jack already knew the answer to that question, but he asked anyway, hoping against hope that it wasn't the pained gasp it sounded like.

"Jack I-"

He heard the kid pull in a shuddering breath, like he was desperately trying to keep it together and calm himself down. Jack was in the car and put his phone on speaker. He would listen to the kid as he made his way to him.

His voice shaking, Mac continued, with words that brought Jack's world crashing to the ground: "I got bit."

Jack knew he wasn't talking about getting bit by a snake or a raccoon or something ridiculous. He got bit by a werewolf. It wasn't a life that Jack wanted for him, for anyone really. Even being born a wolf, and fully embracing all of the abilities that came with it, Jack wouldn't wish it upon anyone. There were so many struggles and hardships that came along with being a wolf that just made the whole thing entirely not worth it sometimes. And Mac had adamantly stated before, when he was drunk one time, that he never wanted to be one.

It had been a rough day, earlier in their career, and there was a turned werewolf who had no guidance on how to control himself. He started killing people, so they had to take him out. Before they even left Phoenix for the night, Mac was attacked in the office by agents who didn't appreciate the fact that he was human. Jack had gotten there before Mac got bit, but the kid was shaken up, and later stated while intoxicated that he really had been truly terrified. He didn't want to be a werewolf. He didn't want to have to be scared of the full moon and his powers and what he could do to people. He was fine how he was. He didn't want to have to listen to an alpha without his consent, he didn't want any of that. Of course, Jack had completely understood, and promised that he would never turn Mac unless it was the only way to save his life. Since Mac trusted him so fully, he agreed to that.

To know that Mac had been bitten and likely turned by some werewolf out there, completely against his will, broke Jack's heart. "It's gonna be okay, I'm almost there," Jack said, trying not to let his anger at whoever did this to his kid seep into his voice. Mac didn't need that right now. Mac was scared, and hurt, and he needed Jack to be strong and calm, so that was exactly what Jack was going to be. "How far are you down the trail?" he asked. "And did you get a good look at who did it? Is he still around, or did he bolt?" Jack heard Mac's breath catch again. "You know what, never mind, we'll deal with that later, I'm almost there. I'm not gonna hang up until I see you, okay?"

"Okay," came the whispered reply.

Jack quickly parked the car at the trailhead and grabbed his phone. He got out of the car and started jogging down the trail. There was no way to know how far down Mac had gotten before he was attacked, but he knew the kid would see him. As he walked, he paid careful attention to what he smelled. There was definitely another werewolf out there somewhere, but it wasn't a scent that Jack recognized.

"I hope you brought an extra shirt," Mac said with a very half-hearted chuckle. Jack knew he was only saying that in an attempt to lighten the mood and make Jack worry less, but it had the opposite effect. Needing an extra shirt implied that the wound hadn't stopped bleeding yet. That was the thing about bitten werewolves. Although they would heal like any born werewolves, the bite that turned them would never fully heal. The ugly scar would always remain, a permanent reminder of what had happened to them. Jack had never seen Matty's scar, which implied that it was always hidden by clothing. He wondered where Mac's would be, and if the kid would have to change how he dressed to cover it, because Mac would definitely want to cover it, Jack already knew that.

"You can always use mine, kid, you know that," Jack said. Then he saw the light of Mac's reflective shirt. Jack had insisted that he always wore a reflective shirt when he went running at night. He'd seen too many news stories about people getting hit by cars at night because the driver didn't see them. He didn't need that happening to Mac. Except now that shirt was in a ball on Mac's shoulder. "Okay, bud, I see ya. I'm gonna hang up now, okay?" Even though they could see each other, he knew Mac must be scared, so he just needed to make sure that Mac would be okay with it if he hung up. The kid replied that it was fine, so Jack hung up and sprinted the rest of the way to him. He tried not to let his fury at seeing the blood all over Mac's shoulder, chest, and neck show. Mac didn't need that right now.

"Jack," was all Mac said. He had a hand over his shoulder, right below where it connected to his neck, and tears in his eyes. He'd balled his running shirt up and was holding it over the wound. It looked like it was still bleeding. Jack purposely didn't look at the bandages covering the slashes he'd received courtesy of a werewolf in Eastern Europe. Besides, those marks would likely be gone by morning, along with most of Mac's other scars - and there were plenty of them.

"It's gonna be okay, kid, I'm here," Jack replied, taking his outer shirt off and gently removing Mac's from the bite. The kid hissed as the wound was exposed, and that's when Jack nearly lost his dinner. The bite was massive, much larger than any werewolf bite Jack had ever seen, and the shape was different. But that wasn't the worst part. It was deep, and the marks were dragged, like whatever had bit the kid had dug its teeth in and shook them around, inflicting as much pain and damage and scarring as possible. If this was a werewolf, it wasn't one from Phoenix who couldn't handle that Mac was human. Some of the agents were jerks, but none of them were cruel enough to make a mark like this.

Jack gently wrapped the bite with his own shirt, as tightly as he could. He needed to stop the bleeding, but he couldn't take Mac to a hospital if it really was a werewolf.

"What happened?" he asked gently, keeping his voice low. Jack wanted to put his arm around the kid, but he was afraid of hurting him. He stayed right beside Mac as they slowly made their way back to Jack's car.

"Bozer was asking too many questions, so we fought, and I left to go run and clear my head. But after a while, I thought I saw something, and then this- this thing came out of nowhere and took me down, and it bit me. It hurt so much, Jack, and I tried to push it off but it was too strong and I couldn't do anything and-"

"Hey, hey," Jack interrupted, gently setting his hand on Mac's good shoulder. "It's okay. Did you get a good look at it? Is this a wolf we know?" The fact that Mac kept saying "it" and not "he" or "she" had Jack's stomach in knots. Even shifted, anyone could tell the difference between a male and a female, so why was Mac saying "it"?

"It was a wolf, Jack, an actual wolf. I mean I know it was a werewolf because of its glowing red eyes and strength the the length of its claws and fangs and how big it was, but it was a full wolf, Jack," Mac said, turning his head to look at Jack. His eyes were still full of fear. "Like you, when you shift into a full wolf."

For the second time that night, Jack stopped where he was. Mac stopped a second later.

"That can't be possible, I can count one one hand the number of werewolves who can fully shift, and I know them all personally, and none of them live in California, and none of them would attack you. They're all old and barely clinging to life out in a pack in the Guadalupe Mountains back in Texas."

"But it was, Jack, it was full wolf, I know it."

Jack sighed. "I know, kid, I believe you, I just don't like it. That means there's a new player here, someone we've never heard of." Jack paused and took a quick sweep of the forest before turning his eyes back to Mac, and beginning to walk again. "Let's deal with that tomorrow. For now, let's get you back home and clean that out."

"What about Bozer?" Mac quickly asked. "He's gonna wanna know and I didn't exactly leave on the best note." Mac looked genuinely upset about the way he'd left things with his friend. Jack knew it was hard for him to do this without Bozer knowing anything, but it was for his own safety. But with this new development, it might be better for him to know.

"For tonight, we tell him the truth. You were attacked by a wolf and you have the bite mark to prove it." Jack turned back to the path. They were almost back to the trailhead, and there had been no other signs of this new werewolf, but that didn't mean it wasn't still around, watching them from the shadows. At least this time, if it attacked his kid, he would be there to protect him. "We'll say that we already took you to the hospital to get it checked out, so he won't have to worry about that." In reality, Jack would patch his his kid up with the first aid kit he had in the car. Since it was a werewolf, there was nothing a hospital could do that Jack couldn't, and he would never make Mac go to the hospital when it wasn't absolutely necessary.

Mac nodded, and turned back to the trailhead, where Jack's car was waiting. "I guess that'll work," he muttered in reply.

"Yeah, it's gonna be okay, bud, I promise," Jack said. "I know this really sucks, and it's something that you never wanted, but it's gonna be alright." Mac nodded again, albeit shakily, and looked away. Jack respected his privacy and did the same. He didn't blame the kid for being emotional about this. He knew it was a traumatic experience to be bit when you didn't want it, and that was something he never wanted for Mac.

Jack opened the passenger's side door of his GTO and helped Mac to sit down - not that Mac needed the assistance, but Jack didn't want to let go of him quite yet - then got the first aid kit from the trunk. He let Mac remove the bloody shirts from the wound, then set about cleaning it. At this point, it had mostly stopped bleeding, but Jack planned on wrapping it tightly anyway. He kept up a string of useless comments about the dinner he ate when he got home earlier that day, and what he planned on eating for breakfast the next day, just to try to keep Mac's mind occupied on something other than the pain and what had happened.

"There ya go, bud. All done," he said, gently patting Mac on the shoulder and standing. His work looked pretty hospital grade if he did say so himself. It would easily pass Bozer's inspection, should he chose to. "Let's get you home."

Mac nodded again, and got himself fully into the car. He let his head fall back onto the headrest with a small thud, and closed his eyes for a moment. Jack didn't want to leave him that night, but he didn't know if staying over at Mac and Bozer's would be good, due to the tension between the roommates. He walked back around the car and got in.

The drive back to Mac's house was a short one, but Jack still tried to start up a conversation. It didn't work. Mac barely said a word, and just stared straight ahead. Eventually, Jack gave up. Clearly his tactics weren't working. Even when they pulled into the driveway, less than two minutes later, Mac made no move to get out. He kept staring straight ahead, unmoving.

"I didn't want this, Jack," he finally muttered, barely loud enough to hear, after Jack had been sitting there staring at him for a solid twenty seconds.

"I know, kid," Jack whispered in reply. What could he say to make this better? There was no way to change what had happened. No matter how much he didn't want to be, or how much he fought it, Mac was a werewolf now, and nothing would change that. "But I promise, I am personally going to find the wolf that did this to you, and put him in the ground. I'm not gonna let you be subject to the every whim of some crazy alpha that we've never heard of, okay?"

For what seemed like the millionth time that night, Mac nodded, then took a deep breath - four seconds in, four seconds out, just like Jack taught him - and got out of the car. Jack quickly followed suit, and walked right beside Mac into the mostly dark house. The only light that was on was in the kitchen. Bozer sat at the stool by the counter, drinking tea, or maybe something stronger. He glared at Mac when the kid walked through the door, but Jack detected just a hint of concern behind it.

"What happened this time?" he asked, taking a very brief glance at the gauze covering Mac's shoulder, even though he made it sound like he really didn't care.

"I got bit by a wolf on my run, but Jack already took me to the hospital and took care of everything, so it's fine," Mac muttered in reply, not even meeting Bozer's eyes.

Bozer shook his head, rolled his eyes, and bit his lip. "You just can't stop lying to me, Mac, can you? There's no wolves in California, especially not LA. You can't even come up with good excuses anymore." Bozer turned completely away and walked to the sink to rinse out his mug.

Jack saw the hurt in Mac's eyes at his friend's cruel words, and knew that he had to step in, even if it wasn't his business. "He is telling the truth. That wound's just been patched up, but you can take a look at it in the morning and see for yourself." Jack subconsciously moved in front of Mac, as if protecting him from a threat.

"Get out of here, Jack!" Bozer slammed the mug down on the counter so hard that Mac heavily flinched back, and Jack was surprised that the mug didn't shatter. "You never let him fight his own battles and you never let me hear the truth! I know you know what's going on, and you lie to me just as much. So just get out," Bozer seethed.

Jack had never seen the young man this angry in his life. It was hard to fight the natural instinct to shift to protect Mac. Jack clenched his fists to stop his claws from showing, and spoke through clenched teeth to stop Bozer from seeing his fangs. There was only so much he could do to control himself when all cues were telling him that Mac was in danger. There was nothing he could do from stopping his eyes from changing from their normal brown to a glowing amber.

"You better take a deep breath and consider your next words very carefully, or you're gonna be sorry you said them," he said through clenched teeth.

"Jack, come on," Mac muttered from behind him. The kid went so far as to even lightly tug on Jack's arm. Jack finally tore his gaze away from Bozer's wide eyes and brought it to meet his partner's. Mac's eyes were even wider, but not with fear or confusion. He was blinking quickly to keep the tears at bay, and wouldn't even glance at Bozer. Mac was shivering, the temperature of the house just too cold with him shirtless.

"Alright, kid, let's go," he said, all aggression and primal rage gone. His claws were gone, as were his fangs. He gently put his arm around Mac's thin shoulders and slowly walked with him towards the kid's room.

"I'll tell you the truth soon, Bozer, I promise," Mac said. Jack could tell the kid had barely kept his voice from breaking, but he hadn't stopped all the tears. "He hates me," Mac muttered once Jack had closed the door behind them.

"No, he doesn't," Jack immediately replied. He sat right next to Mac on the bed and kept his arm wrapped around him. "He's just mad, and confused, and hurt. He doesn't hate you, no one could hate you."

"It sure feels like it," Mac muttered with a sigh. He reached up and wiped away the few stray tears and took another deep breath. "We have to tell him the whole truth. If we don't, I'm gonna lose him, and Jack, I can't do that. I can't lose anyone else, especially not Bozer." He shook his head again and closed his eyes. Jack began to rub soothing circles on the kid's back in an effort to bring him some calm and peace.

"We can show him tomorrow. I can show him tomorrow." Jack got Mac to make eye contact with him, and flashed his eyes amber. "We don't have to let anyone know that he knows, but I am not gonna let you lose him because of protocol."

"But I don't want you to get in trouble. If Matty finds out that you showed yourself as a wolf to a civilian-"

"We'll deal with that when the times comes. Right now, all that matters is taking care of what we have here." Jack took a breath and pulled Mac closer to him. The kid leaned closer into his touch, and even let his head rest on Jack's shoulder. "You are not in this alone. I'm gonna take care you. I'm gonna teach you how to deal with the shift, with the moon, with everything. It's gonna be okay, because I am right here with you, okay?" He looked down at his kid, trying to catch his gaze.

"Okay," Mac replied with a gentle nod.

"Now you need to get some rest, bud. And don't worry, I'm not goin' anywhere."

Throughout the night, whenever Mac woke in a panic, either from nightmares or just because he'd been turned without his consent, Jack was there to hold him, and help him fall back asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

Bozer stared at the coffee maker, his hands on the counter's edge. He'd been awake for hours, completely unable to get any substantial sleep. That argument with Mac had been rough. Bozer knew he'd hurt his friend a lot, and had stepped out of line, but in his defense, Mac was definitely hiding something. He'd been hiding something for a while, and Bozer deserved to know the truth. After all, he'd been trying to take care of and protect Mac ever since Donnie Sandoz beat the blond up all the way back in grade school. Something that he was keeping from Bozer was getting him hurt, and Bozer couldn't keep him safe if he didn't know the whole truth.

In reality, Mac had been getting hurt consistently ever since he got back from Afghanistan. At first, Bozer thought that maybe Jack was hurting him, but Mac never seemed even a little bit scared of the man, even going to him instead of Bozer, and Jack had always acted like nothing but a fierce protector. It hurt, for a while, seeing Mac so close to Jack, going to him for safety and comfort rather than Bozer, like he used to, but he got used to it. He realized that it was in Mac's best interest, especially since the man had protected him out in the desert, and Jack could relate to Mac in ways that Bozer never could. Besides, Jack was pretty cool, and soon become a welcome addition to Bozer's life as well.

But still, Mac was always getting hurt, and he couldn't be getting into that many "minor car accidents" every single time he went on a business trip. Something was going on, and Bozer needed to find out what. Maybe it was bit cruel, acting like he would sever ties with Mac if he didn't tell him the truth, but he needed to know. Mac's abandonment issues could easily be played on to get what he wanted. Bozer knew it would work, but at what cost? Mac already believed that everyone was going to leave him eventually, and if Bozer acted like he really would, then it would wreck his relationship with Mac forever. His best friend would forever be living in fear that Bozer really was just like everyone else, and would leave him the first time it be inconvenient to stay around him. Bozer shook his head. He couldn't do that to him. He just couldn't. Besides, if he did, Jack would hate him forever.

And what on earth had happened with Jack the night before? It had to have been a trick of the light, but Bozer would swear that the man's eyes had glowed amber. That was impossible, so it really must have been nothing, but it was all he saw in his mind when he went to bed. After tossing and turning for several hours, that image of Jack's glowing amber eyes and face full of rage, Mac standing just behind him, holding onto his arm, shivering, his eyes full of tears, just became too much for him to handle. He got up and made coffee, and had been refilling his mug ever since. Bozer sighed. The mug was one that Mac had made himself for Bozer for his birthday a few years back. It was beautiful.

Grabbing his now full third cup of coffee, Bozer shook his head again and went to the stool by the counter, where he sat down and stared into the mug. On a normal Saturday morning, he would be making pancakes and bacon for himself and Mac, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it this time. He was always happy on Saturday mornings, but not this time. His friendship with Mac was going to fall apart if he didn't do something, but Bozer still felt like he'd been wronged too. Mac had been lying to him for years now, he was sure of it, and he wasn't going to pretend that Mac was just a victim in all of this just because he'd gotten a little heated last night. That's how Jack was going to make it seem, since Mac was his favorite person, but Bozer had to stand up for himself. He needed to stay calmer, and he definitely needed to apologize, but he needed answers too. He needed the truth.

...

Mac pressed the pillow further around his head. He could hear everything, absolutely everything, and he couldn't handle it. It was too much, sounds coming from all different direction, from outside, from the kitchen, from Jack, from freaking everywhere and it was just too much. Mac flinched when he felt the hand on his shoulder. He briefly removed the pillow that was covering his ears and turned to Jack, who was looking at him with sadness in his eyes.

"How can you stand it, Jack?" he asked in a whisper. Everything was too loud.

"I've been used to it my whole life, bud, and I promise you'll get used to it too," Jack replied. He squeezed Mac's shoulder in reassurance, then pulled Mac around and closer to him. Mac dropped the pillow and buried his head in Jack's chest. He put his hands over his ears and tried to focus on the one thing that always calmed him down - Jack. Usually he could just feel the man's heartbeat, but he could hear it now too. Mac tried to focus on that - and the hands now gently rubbing his back, holding him close - and let it calm him. Jack was there, he wasn't leaving, and he was going to teach Mac what to do. Everything was going to be okay.

He could hear Bozer making coffee in the kitchen. His roommate had been up for several hours, and Mac knew that eventually, he would have to go out and face the music. Bozer did deserve answers, and Jack had said that they could give them to him. Still, Mac was scared. What if Bozer hated him once he found out? What if the lies were too much, and even the truth couldn't fix it? What if Bozer was scared of Jack, scared of him? Mac didn't know what he would do if Bozer left him. He was Mac's oldest friend, and he just couldn't lose him.

"We need to go tell him," Mac muttered into Jack's chest. Focusing so much on Jack's heartbeat really had helped, and Mac found himself able to ignore all of the other sounds as long as he kept his focus on Jack, like anchor keeping him steady.

"Okay, bud. Let's go then." Jack gently untangled himself from Mac and stood up. At first, all the sounds came back and Mac flinched again, once again covering his ears, but once he looked at Jack and focused on him again, it faded a bit, and he was okay. Jack wasn't always going to be right there, so he would have to learn a different method of ignoring all those sounds eventually, but for now, this worked.

Mac got up and slowly followed Jack out of the room. There Bozer was, sitting at the counter with his mug of coffee, just like Mac knew he would be - he had heard him making coffee, heard his footsteps, and heard the sound of the stool being pulled away from the counter. Bozer didn't turn to look at them. He simply sat there, staring into his mug.

"Hey, Boze," Mac hesitantly muttered. There was no reply. "Can we talk?"

After a moment, Bozer sighed, but said, "yeah, fine." He quickly stood away from the counter, and abandoned his coffee mug. He went to the couch and sat down, still not looking at either Mac or Jack.

"This is, uh, this is something that we kind of have to show you, okay? And please don't freak out," Mac said, just hoping that Bozer wouldn't start yelling again. He'd never seen him as mad as he'd been the night before, and he never wanted to see it again. It reminded him of his dad, and his dad was someone that he'd rather soon forget.

"Sure, whatever, but first, there's something I've gotta say," Bozer said. He finally looked up at Mac and made eye contact. "I'm sorry for last night. I overreacted and I know that hurt you, but I know that I deserve the truth. I've deserved the truth for a long time now, so you better be ready to give it to me."

"We will, Bozer, I promise," Mac replied. He knew it sounded a bit like he was pleading, but he couldn't bring himself to care. "Jack?"

"Yeah," Jack said. He scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "Like Mac said, you need to not freak out. I know that's gonna be hard, but please don't freak out." Bozer just looked at him quizzically, but nodded. "Okay, then." Jack looked at Mac, then nodded.

Mac took a deep breath, knowing his life was about to change once again. He watched as Jack's eyes turned from brown to glowing amber, his claws and fangs came out, and all of his other werewolf features showed themselves. Bozer's eyes were comically wide, and his mouth was gaping like a fish. He kept looking at Jack, then over to Mac, then back to Jack, and blinking again and again, like what he was seeing would change the next time he opened his eyes.

"I'm a werewolf, Bozer," Jack said, his voice gruffer than normal.

"Uh, clearly!" Bozer shouted in response. Mac flinched back at the loud sound, reaching his hands up to his pained ears once again. He quickly brought them back down, but it was too late. "And you?" Bozer asked.

"I got turned last night, by some werewolf that we don't know. I was telling the truth. I really was attacked in the woods," Mac replied with a shrug. "It's gonna take a while for me to get used to all of this, and to learn to control everything. It might be safer for you if I stay somewhere else for a while, just until I get a handle on this."

"He's gonna stay with me," Jack interjected, throwing his hairy arm around Mac's shoulder. Mac looked up at him in surprise. "What, did you think I was gonna make you stay in some crappy motel? Of course you're stayin' with me, bud, duh." Jack rolled his eyes, but smiled. It looked normal enough to Mac, who had seen him as a wolf more times than he could count, but Bozer looked pretty freaked out to see Jack acting so completely normal while he looked so completely not.

"So, yeah, I guess we're both werewolves, now, and the whole Phoenix Foundation is too. We take care of rogue werewolf problems all around the world," Mac continued. Bozer slowly turned from staring at Jack to staring at Mac.

"'Rogue werewolf problems?'" he repeated as a question. "What the hell the does that mean?"

"Well, it can mean terrorist groups that are actually werewolf packs, werewolf serial killers, stuff like that," Jack said with a shrug. He had shifted back, and Mac hadn't even noticed. Clearly neither had Bozer, because his eyes widened again upon turning to him. "I was born a werewolf, but Mac really did get bit last night. But he's got me, so he's in good hands," Jack continued with a smile - this one without fangs.

"So, last night, when your eyes changed colors, that really happened? That wasn't me seeing things?" Bozer asked, his eyes still comically wide.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Jack replied, a bit sheepishly. "Mac was hurt, you were pushin' my buttons a bit, I felt like I needed to protect him, ya know..." He took a breath before continuing. "Sometimes you just can't completely stop the turn," he said with a shrug.

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Mac added before Bozer could reply. "It's against protocol to tell anyone, we're really not supposed to, and if they find out that I did, we could all get in serious trouble, so please, don't tell anyone, and act like you don't know, please."

Bozer slowly nodded. "Okay, I won't," he said. "But you're doing all the chores around here for a month, and you're paying for everything. I deserve that at least, since you have been lying to me ever since you got back from Afghanistan." He glared at Mac, but there was no longer any real malice behind him. Mac could've cried in relief. Bozer didn't hate him. He wasn't going to leave because of this.

"Okay, that's fair," Mac replied with a small smile. "I know you probably have a hundred different questions, and I promise that I will answer every single one of them, but we really need to go in and tell Matty about what happened." He wrapped his arms around his torso and dropped eye contact. He still couldn't believe it had happened. After three years of knowing werewolves, he finally got bitten. He'd done everything he could to prevent it, and it happened while he was on a run, only a mile from home.

Jack must have sensed his distress, because he wrapped his arm tighter around Mac's shoulders and pulled him closer. "Yeah, Boze, we gotta head out," Jack said, pointing a thumb back towards the door. "We gotta let the team know."

"Wait, so Matty and Riley are werewolves too?" Bozer rushed out, standing up as Mac and Jack moved to leave.

"Yep," Jack replied, not looking back. Mac smiled, and waved goodbye to his friend as he walked out the door. "See, bud? I told you it'd be okay," Jack continued once they got in the car. He reached out and ruffled Mac's hair, but Mac quickly swatted his hand away with a smile. "Like I said, Bozer could never hate you. He's gonna act annoyed at you for a while now, but it'll all be okay."

"Yeah, yeah," Mac said with a sigh. "You were right." He raised his hands up a bit in surrender. "I think Bozer is gonna be okay with this, after a while."

The sudden honking of another car on the busy LA road had Mac flinching back heavily, pulling his knees up and throwing his hands over his ears again. He slowly pulled them away with quick, heavy breaths.

"You okay, bud?" Jack asked. He was clearly trying to keep his eyes on the road, but his concerned gaze kept landing on his partner.

"Yeah," Mac replied, running his hands through his hair and taking a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm fine. How long is it gonna take to get used to that?"

It was Jack's turn to sigh. "I can't say for sure, kiddo, I'm sorry. But I promise you will." Jack paused for a few seconds. "You know it's gonna be okay, right? I'm gonna take care of you, I'm gonna teach you everything. Being a werewolf isn't the worst thing in the world. I know this isn't what you wanted, but it really is gonna be okay."

"Yeah, Jack, I know," he sullenly replied. Even Mac could tell that he didn't sound convincing at all, but he made no effort to sound cheery. The pain in his ears at the car horn had reminded him that everything wasn't going to magically be okay just because he'd seemed to have patched things up with Bozer. He still had been turned by some maniac out there. That alpha could make Mac do anything if he wanted. Mac had known werewolves for years, and he knew what some psychotic alphas did to all of the wolves they turned. Some forced them to change at their every whim, forced them to kill, and even forced them to mate. Mac knew he was now subjected to the same things if his alpha wanted him to be. That thought sent a shiver down his spine. His alpha. It was the truth. The wolf that had turned him was his alpha now, and Mac wouldn't be able to fight it if the alpha used his influence over him. It was simple werewolf biology.

Mac took a deep, shuddering breath, and tried to focus on Jack's heartbeat again. He was not going to lose it right now. He needed to calm down and get a grip. Staying in a perpetual state of fear of this alpha wasn't going to help them track it down. He breathed in for four seconds, then out for four. He did that again, and again, and again. Jack's heartbeat was steady. When Mac closed his eyes and focused, it was all he heard. A steady thud. He opened his eyes and let out a breath. Maybe, just maybe, as long as Jack was with him, it really would be okay.

...

The alpha breathed in the faint smell of blood left in the house. It was a little cliche, really, him living in an old farmhouse outside of LA where scores of people had been murdered decades earlier, but what could he say? Murdoc lived for the cliches. He was a full-fledged psychopath after all, and a werewolf at that. For all the healing powers of werewolves, they couldn't fix his complete lack of empathy and ability to manipulate others, likely due to a disconnect with his amygdala. Besides, it wasn't as if Murdoc minded. He'd been this way - a psychopath, at least - his whole life, and he didn't feel the need to change. Some people spent their whole lives trying to be happy with who they were, but Murdoc had always been content with his love of blood and seeing terror on the faces of others. At least he wasn't one of the world's sheep, buying into self help and new age garbage trying to better himself. Like everyone wanted to be, Murdoc was happy with himself. He really could be a poster child for self empowerment.

And it only got better and better. Ever since he finally found the perfect one to be his first beta, Murdoc had been ecstatic. Of course, the boy wasn't his first bite, wasn't the first one he'd made scream, but he was the first one he bit with the intention of turning, and not killing. No, he didn't want to kill the boy. There were many better uses for such a perfect specimen. Turning him only made him better. It would be an absolute pleasure to watch the boy try to fight it when Murdoc forced him to change, forced him to do anything he wanted him too. Because he would never be able to fight it for long. His new biology would eventually kick in, and he would do anything his alpha told him to. But maybe, sometimes, Murdoc wouldn't use his power as the boy's alpha to make him do his bidding. It could be fun to make him do it while completely in human form, screaming and begging the whole time. His options were endless, honestly. Murdoc had been looking forward to making his own beta for years now, and he'd finally found the perfect specimen in that beautiful boy, Angus MacGyver.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long wait. I had midterms and then I spent spring break in Atlanta with my family. That's also why this chapter is so short. After such a long wait, I just wanted to give you guys something. All the other chapters should be the normal length. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

The moment Mac and Jack stepped into the war room, Riley knew something was different. She took another subtle sniff of the air, and her eyes widened in realization. Mac had been turned. A quick look at Matty proved that she could smell it too. The scent of a werewolf was impossible to hide from other wolves, making it immediately obvious that Mac was no longer human.

"What happened?" she asked, fighting back the wave of emotion that came over her. Mac had never wanted this. He had been completely content with being human and made her, Matty, and Jack all promise that they would never turn him unless it was literally the only way to save his life, and even then they could only do it with his consent. So him being turned meant that no matter what, something terrible had happened. And based on the way that Jack was sticking extra close to Mac, keeping his arm around the blond's shoulders, whatever happened had been truly traumatic.

"I was out for a run last night," Mac started in a small voice. He wasn't meeting anyone's eyes. "And I was attacked by a wolf, a huge wolf, bigger than any wolf I've ever seen in my life. His claws and fangs were so long and jagged, and his eyes were red." Mac wrapped his arms around himself, and Jack pulled him even closer. Riley didn't have to be a werewolf to tell that Mac's heart wasn't the only one that was breaking. "He bit me, then ran off." He pulled the collar of his shirt over his shoulder and pulled some of the gauze over the wound off, revealing part of the worst werewolf bite Riley had ever seen. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but it was going to take a very long time to fully heal, and the scar left would be terrible. As a born wolf, Riley didn't have that scar, and neither did Jack. She knew Matty had one, but she'd never seen it, which implied that it was probably on her lower torso, easy to hide. Mac's would not be during the summer months. That was going to be hard for him to deal with.

"I'm so sorry," Riley softly said, stepping closer to Mac and wrapping her arms around him. He melted into her touch, letting his head rest on top of her shoulder. Riley could smell more of how his scent had changed, but it was still undeniably him. He had always smelled a bit like the summer air after a warm rain to her, and now he did even more. She was sure that he could now smell her more clearly too, and she figured he was just now realizing this, based on the way he had tilted his head to get his nose closer to her hair. Riley couldn't help but smile. Even though this was a situation that he never wanted, they could still find some joy in it. "We're gonna get you through this," she continued. "It's gonna be okay." Riley started to gently rub his back for a moment before pulling away. The moment Riley stepped away, Jack moved right back to Mac's side and put his arm around the blond once again, holding him close.

"She's right," Matty added, stepping closer to them. She looked about as emotional as Riley had ever seen her. "We're here for you. I know what you're going through, and I'm going to be there every step of the way."

"Thanks, you guys," Mac replied, crossing his arms again and pulling them close, as if he were trying to make himself smaller. He was understandably a bit overwhelmed, not only with the emotional toll of what had happened, but physically. For the first time in his life, all of his senses would be completely in tune with the world around him. That was something that usually took about a week or two for bitten wolves to get used to.

"We have to find the bastard that did this to him," Jack growled - literally, his eyes had changed to amber and his fangs were slightly elongated. "We can't let it get away with this, and we can't let it hurt Mac."

Matty was silent for a moment before asking, "do you still have what you used to clean out the bite with?" Jack nodded. "Go get it, and bring it down to the labs. They can try to find the wolf's DNA and see if we can get a match, or at least see if it matches any open investigations."

"It's out in the car," Jack said to them all, before turning just to Mac and continuing in a lower voice. "I'm gonna go get it and bring it to the lab, but then I'll be right back, okay?" Mac nodded his acquiescence, then Jack rubbed his back for a second before leaving.

"What did you tell Bozer?" Riley asked. Even to a human, it was impossible not to tell that something was wrong.

Mac's eyes went wide for a split second before he averted his gaze at looked at the ground. He quickly glanced back at the door where Jack had left, as if he were hoping the man would walk back in at that very moment. He rubbed his hands over his arms and met no one's gaze.

"Uhmm," he said. "That I was attacked by a wolf," he muttered. Clearly there was more to it than that. Mac was usually a really good liar, but Riley was willing to cut him some slack on that front due to the circumstances.

"Mac," Matty gently prompted. "What did you say to him?"

Mac took a small glance up at her before looking away once again. "Just that, that I got bit by a wolf," he answered with a shrug. He looked again longingly over at the door.

"And Bozer believed that?" Matty asked, incredulous. It was a fair question. They all loved Bozer as part of their family - their "dysfunctional wolf pack", as Jack liked to say - even though he knew nothing of what they really did. But he wasn't allowed to know. As Oversight, Thornton was a stickler for the rules and regulations. She cared much more deeply about her agents then she would ever admit, but in order to keep their agency on the government's good side, they had to follow government protocol to the letter. Thornton, despite the care she had for the agents, was willing to do whatever necessary to keep the agency safe. And that meant that if someone broke the rules and told someone, both would disappear, and a blacksite would gain two new permanent guests. As much as Riley knew it broke Thornton's heart to do that, she would, for the good of the agency and peaceful werewolves everywhere.

Mac wasn't responding, which told Riley everything she needed to know. Matty walked to the glass and frosted it, showing that she understood too.

"I won't let anyone know," Matty whispered. "I'm going to protect you, and Bozer too. Thornton will not find out about this, I promise. Riley," she said, turning to her. "I assume you can erase the footage of any incriminating parts of this conversation without leaving a trace?"

"Look who you're talking to," Riley responded with a smirk. She pulled out her laptop and sat down, getting to work. Everything would be erased and the remaining footage would pass even the highest level of scrutiny in a matter of minutes.

"I don't want you guys to get in trouble too," Mac said, raising his voice more than he had since walking into the room. "I can't let you guys go down too."

"Too bad, blondie," Matty replied, a gentle smile on her face. "I know that as director I'm not supposed to play favorites, but you aren't just an agent, you're family, and that means that Bozer is family too. I am going to do whatever I have to in order to protect you both. It's gonna be okay, I promise."

Riley had to take a moment to center herself on the task at hand. Matty's motherly tone had a lump forming in her throat. Mac's mother had died when he was five. He said she got sick, but he didn't really know what with for sure, just that she had gotten really sick and was dead two days later. He barely even remembered her anymore. But even if his biological mother had died, he had another one. No one said it out loud, but their whole team knew that Matty was the closest thing Mac was ever going to get to having a mother again. He deserved to have a mother, and Matty filled that gap very well.

At the knock on the door, Matty defrosted the glass. It was Jack.

"The labs are runnin' it now," he said as he walked through the door. "They should have results within the hour, which means that we have time to go down to medical and get you stitched up for real."

"You did a fine job, I don't need to go to medical," Mac said dismissively with a wave of his hand, as per usual. Riley just smirked.

"Yeah, I wasn't askin', bud," Jack replied with a smile. He threw his arm back around Mac's shoulders and directed him out the door. Riley caught the roll of his eyes, but he didn't fight against it with more than a clearly exaggerated sigh.

"Everything's all good," Riley said to Matty, pointing at her laptop to indicate that she had finished up with editing the footage.

"Good, now can you go down to the labs and wait on a result for me? I want us to know the moment the results are in. I'd go down myself, but sadly I have an agency to run," Matty said.

"Yeah, of course." Riley stood and put her rig back in her backpack, then made her way down to the labs. Although Jack hadn't said who he had given the job to when he dropped off the samples, Riley had a pretty good idea who it was. There were many lab techs, but their team was closet with Jill Morgan.

Jill was bit while in college, and recruited by the Phoenix shortly thereafter. She'd been with the Phoenix ever since Riley worked there, being a few years older than her and Bozer. Although a bit naive, she was deeply caring and one of the smartest people Riley knew.

"About how long on those samples?" Riley asked, clutching her hands together behind her back. She grinned at the way Jill jumped at her voice. For a werewolf, Jill was very jumpy.

"Uh, hey, Riley. How did you know I had them?" she asked in return.

"Lucky guess," Riley replied with a shrug and smile. "You have the samples from Mac's case, right?"

"It should be just a couple of minutes. I'll let you know as soon as they come in."

"Awesome." Riley spun around on her heel and took a seat in one of the open chairs. She pulled her rig back out and got to work on the latest code she was writing. She may as well be productive while she waited.

About ten minutes later, Riley heard a very telling ding coming from Jill's computer. She looked up, but couldn't see the monitor. Jill was frozen in front of it, not moving, and saying nothing.

"Did we get results?" she asked, hoping to break Jill from whatever trance she was in.

"Riley, you better come see this," Jill replied. Riley frowned. The woman sounded haunted.

"What is it?" she asked. She set her laptop down and stood, quickly taking the few steps over to Jill's station.

There on the monitor were pictures of several different bloodbaths. They were some of the most gruesome crime scenes she'd ever seen - and she'd seen a lot of crime scenes. The bodies were completely ripped apart, limbs missing and blood everywhere. It had probably been very difficult to get positive IDs on a lot of the victims. They looked like rabid bear attacks.

"Oh my gosh..." Riley muttered, raising her hand to cover her mouth. These disgusting scenes were somehow related to the werewolf that bit Mac?

"The DNA I was able to pull from the sample that Jack gave me came back from six different investigations. The police were never able to identify what the DNA came from, but it's clearly werewolf," Jill explained.

That didn't make any sense. Stuff like this was what the Phoenix existed for, so why hadn't they been investigating these murders? Why didn't they know about them at all?

"Send this up to Matty immediately, I'll run through it with her."

Without waiting for an answer, Riley turned around and grabbed her laptop, before quickly heading back up to the war room. Whatever monster had murdered those people had bit Mac. It didn't make any sense, but Riley knew Mac was in danger. She could feel it in her gut. It went beyond a werewolf's instincts or a protective sense for the one she thought of as a little brother. It was plain old intuition that Riley had learned over the years to always trust. It's what helped to make her such a good agent. And that intuition was telling her that this monster wasn't going to be content with just turning Mac, it wanted something else. Mac wasn't safe. She just knew it. And Riley wasn't going to rest until he was.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like the fluff in this one, because there's gonna be a lot of angst and whump after this lol. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

Soon enough - at least for Jack - Mac was given a clean bill of health by Phoenix medical. The wound was healing nicely, and although the scar would be quite something, there would be no lasting damage. That was good enough for Jack. The idea that the wound could've gotten infected or there could be tendon damage had been terrifying him, so to hear that Mac was going to be just fine was a huge relief.

"See? I told you it was fine," Mac said, as per usual, as he and Jack stepped out of medical.

"Better safe than sorry, bud, you know that," Jack replied, throwing his arm around Mac's shoulders once again. Mac was no longer flinching at every noise - except for louder ones, it would take more time for him to get used to those - and Jack counted that as good progress. He knew Mac would get a handle on this, and would likely become one of the greatest werewolves Jack had ever known. Some would say that was just Jack being biased in favor of his favorite person, but Mac really was amazing at everything he set his mind to - except cooking, for some reason - and this would be no different. In time, the kid would learn to control his powers, and would likely be an even better agent for it.

The buzzing of his phone brought Jack out of his thoughts. He pulled out his phone and glanced at it. It was a message from Matty. Jack stopped in his tracks the moment he read it, letting his arm fall from Mac's shoulders.

"What's wrong?" the kid asked the moment Jack's arm fell without the usual parting pat on his back like Jack would normally do.

Jack slowly brought his gaze up to Mac's concerned eyes. "We gotta get up to the war room. They got the lab tests back, and there's more to this than we thought," he said. Jack started walking again, and felt Mac fall into step next to him. Matty hadn't been very descriptive in her text, but no matter what, Jack wasn't going to let anything else happen to his kid. He'd already been turned against his will. He didn't need anything else.

Upon arriving in the war room, Jack was greeted with Riley looking much more concerned that normal. Matty looked pissed.

"Okay, what's going on?" Mac asked, breaking the silence.

After a sigh, Riley answered him, saying, "we didn't find a DNA match to a single werewolf, but it did come back from six different animal attacks around LA. Authorities never figured out what animal killed them, and for some reason, we were never notified."

"Prepare yourself," Matty interjected. "These are pretty grisly." She put the photos up on the screen, showing six different bloodbaths. Jack had seen a lot of disgusting things in his life, but even this turned his stomach. One look at Mac proved the kid felt the same. He was paler than usual, and his blue eyes were wide.

"You think the wolf that turned me, did this?" Mac asked, his voice shaking just a little bit. If he didn't know the kid so well, Jack probably wouldn't have noticed it.

"We know it did," Matty replied. "We also know it's a he. We're officially looking for a male."

"Then why didn't he just kill me too? If that's his usual MO, why did he change? It's not like he didn't have the opportunity to. He could have killed me easily and there would've been nothing I could've done to stop him," Mac said.

Jack tried to ignore the way his stomach dropped once again when Mac talked about his possible death. The thought of his kid dying was nothing short of nightmare inducing.

"Let's just be thankful he didn't," Jack muttered. It took every ounce of his self control to stop himself from taking a step closer to his kid. There was no immediate danger, and no reason to make Mac think he should be scared. He never wanted him to be scared.

"I am very thankful that he didn't," Riley started. "But I think it is important to figure out why. Whenever a serial killer changes their MO, there's always a reason. So what is it?"

After a moment, Jack nodded. Riley was right. There had to be a good explanation as to why this werewolf turned Mac instead of killing him. This would be the only good thing that disgusting excuse for a wolf and a man ever did. If he'd killed Mac, Jack knew there wouldn't be any force in the world that would stop him from hunting that wolf down and tearing him apart slowly just like the wolf did to all of his other victims. When it came to his family, especially his kids, Jack knew he was capable of truly evil things. Sometimes it scared him, but his kids were everything to him. It was pure luck that he had Riley back in his life again, and anyone who took her from him would have hell to pay. Within sixty-four days of meeting Mac, that kid became his whole freaking world, and Jack knew he would do literally anything to protect that boy.

"I think I know someone who might be able to give us some help," Matty said with a slight smirk. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and slowly walked to the door. As she walked away, Jack could hear her say, "Samantha, it's been a long time."

...

Apparently, Matty's old friend Samantha Cage, a werewolf - "or is she a weredingo", Jack said - from Australia, was an expert profiler, and would be on the next flight out of her country to LA. Matty seemed very confident that she would be able to help them. She was so confident that she gave them the rest of the day off.

"Rest up," she said. "After your excellent work in Europe, you deserve it."

That ended up being a very good thing, because Mac was craving meat.

"I know I always made fun of you for wanting steak literally every single day," Mac started sheepishly. "But I kind of get it now," he finished in a mutter, not looking at Jack. He could feel his face heating up.

"Aww it's okay, kiddo, I'll take you out somewhere nice for your first steak as a wolf," Jack said with a smile. He quickly reached out and grabbed Mac in a gentle headlock, rubbing his fist in Mac's hair. Faster than he was usually able to, Mac got out of the headlock and swatted Jack's arm away, but he was smiling the whole time.

"As long as you're buying," he replied, raising his hands in surrender.

"Jack's buying? Whatever it is, I'm in," Riley added out of nowhere, causing both Mac and Jack to jump. Despite only being a halfblood, Riley was incredibly stealthy, which was always a great asset on missions, but made her impossible to beat in hide-and-seek - not that they had ever played that before, that was a kid's game, why would they play it, come on.

"Yeah, Jack's getting all sentimental and wants to buy me my first steak as a werewolf," Mac said, swiveling his head over to meet Jack's gaze, giving him that grin that Jack can never seem to resist.

Jack gave a heavy sigh, but Mac knew it was all for show. "You kids are so lucky I love you. Lunch is on me today but that means you can't get mad at me next time I raid either one of your fridges," he said.

Mac and Riley both laughed, and followed Jack to the parking garage. Riley drove herself in, and thus would be meeting them there. Mac hopped into Jack's GTO and turned on the radio, starting to flip through the stations.

"Hey, don't touch that, you know the rules," Jack said, swatting Mac's hand away from the stereo.

"But I thought you loved me," Mac said, looking up at Jack and making his eyes as big and wide as possible. The thought that he was giving the term 'puppy eyes' a whole new meaning now briefly went through his mind, but he couldn't let that thought ruin his concentration on looking as pathetic as possible.

"Damn," Jack muttered, turning away. "Every time. Fine, pick whatever channel you want, but you gotta stop doing that, kid. You know I can't resist that, and that ain't fair," he said, pointing an accusing finger at Mac.

Mac laughed in response and quickly flipped through the channels before ultimately settling on Jack's favorite anyway. He wouldn't torture the man too much today. After leaning back in his seat once the country station was blaring, he turned to Jack with a grin. Jack just looked over at him and rolled his eyes, but he was smiling too.

So yeah, he was a werewolf now, and there was some monster werewolf out there, but despite it all, he was happy. He and Jack were still fooling around like they always did, so nothing had really changed. Even his hearing was started to level out. He was becoming used to it. So maybe everything really would be okay. Maybe it wasn't even that bad to be a werewolf.

As per usual, at the restaurant, Mac and Riley continued to fool around because they knew it would rile Jack up a bit. Jack even apologized to the waiter for his "children", who just laughed even more. The waiter didn't seem bothered though. Mac and Riley knew their limits in polite company, and would never be fooling around with straw wrappers if Matty had been there, or anyone else of status. But this was a family lunch with Jack, so making little caterpillars with water and wrappers was perfectly okay.

Mac could literally feel his mouth watering when the waiter set his steak down in front of him. Jack and Riley were laughing at him, but he didn't care. All that mattered in that moment was that beautiful rare steak. He devoured it faster than he'd ever remembered eating anything.

"Don't forget to chew, bud," Jack said with a chuckle, even though he was eating his own steak pretty quickly as well. Riley was over halfway done with her ribs, but she was trying to keep up with them. Being a halfblood, her appetite wasn't exactly the same as Jack's, or a newborn's like Mac.

It was the best steak Mac ever had.

"You sure you're gonna be okay by yourself?" Jack asked as he pulled up in Mac's driveway. Bozer was working a double shift and wouldn't be back until after the fast food place he worked at closed, which was midnight.

"Yes, Jack, I'll be fine," Mac replied as he got out of the car. Jack was always overprotective like that. "I promise I'm okay now, and I'll see you at work tomorrow. All I'm gonna do is work on my bike. I won't even leave the house, scout's honor," he said, crossing his heart.

Jack sighed. "You got kicked out of the scouts, bud," he said, hesitation clear on his face.

"Jack," Mac responded, taking a step closer to the GTO and leaning over the door - the top was down. "I'm gonna be fine. I'll see you tomorrow." Mac gave his best friend a smile and turned to walk into the house.

"You better," Jack muttered from the car, just loud enough for Mac to hear him. Mac just shook his head and walked inside. He stopped after stepping through the door, and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He was so much more in tune with the house than he had been. It was amazing, and he couldn't really describe it.

The rest of the day passed exactly how Mac told Jack it would. He worked on that bike that never seemed to run like it should. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to figure out what the problem was. But the bike had been his grandfather's and he was never getting rid of it or scrapping it for parts. One day, he was going to fix that thing, and he was going to ride it, no matter what anyone said.

But at about ten o'clock, something felt different. Mac had just been putting away his tools that he'd been using and was about to shower to get all the grease off when something just changed. He couldn't put his finger on what it was. It was like a tingle or an itch, but in his mind. Whatever the itch was, it was telling him to go back outside, back to the trail where he was turned.

Mac shook his head. That was a terrible and pointless idea. Nonetheless, he walked to the front door and opened it. He stopped where he was, then shook his head again and closed the door. No, he was not going to do that. But then it wasn't just an itch anymore, it was some burning in his mind, and it hurt. Mac squeezed his eyes shut and raised a hand to his head against the pain. He needed to go back to the trail. He just had to. It didn't make sense, but Mac couldn't stop himself. He was actively telling himself to stop, but his muscles weren't listening to him, and he began walking out and towards the trail. He didn't even close the door behind him. It was a good thing he'd already been wearing shoes. As he kept walking, all Mac could think was that he'd promised Jack he wasn't going to leave the house. He wanted to pull out his phone and call Jack, to ask him what was going on, why his body wasn't listening to him, but he'd left it on the coffee table where he'd set his tools. Besides, even if he had it, there was no guarantee that he would be physically able to pull it out and call Jack.

As Mac reached the trailhead, all he knew was that something was very wrong.

...

Murdoc smiled when the boy came into view. It worked. He wanted the boy to come to him, and he did. The boy looked just as perfect now as he did when Murdoc bit him. He could see those beautiful blue eyes widen as they met his, but the boy kept walking. Murdoc could tell the boy was fighting it, but he would never succeed against the whim of his alpha.

"Angus MacGyver," he greeted once the boy was close enough.

"You're him, aren't you?" Angus asked. "You're the one who bit me, who turned me." His eyes were no longer wide with fear, they were narrow with anger. Murdoc found it adorable. A boy who looked as young and precious as Angus could never look formidable.

"Guilty as charged," Murdoc replied with a smile, raising his hands slightly in surrender. "And now, it's time for you to come with me. I didn't turn you just to let you loose on the world. I have much more fun intentions than that. Well, fun for me," finished with a nod.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Angus replied, shaking his head. Murdoc just smiled. Clearly the boy was trying to move, to run or fight, but he still couldn't.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice. I could just make you, like I'm making you stand there and do nothing now, but I have a much more fun idea." Murdoc smiled again, then lunged forward pushing the boy against the tree. He let go of all his influence over Angus as his alpha and let the boy fight with all he had. Sometimes the fight was the best part, and the boy was quite the fighter. He could have just made the boy come with him like he'd made Angus find him, but the bruises left behind by a strangling were so beautiful, and Murdoc just couldn't resist.

Murdoc wrapped his hands around the boy's beautiful, slender neck, and squeezed with all he had. He knew his eyes were changing to their glowing red as he used his strength as a wolf to subdue the boy. Despite his strength as a newborn, Angus was no match for him. His eyes, still blue, but now brighter and glowing, were wide as he fought back with everything he had. His fingers now had claws and he clawed at Murdoc with all he had, but any cut the boy managed to give him was healed less than a second after the infliction. Slowly, beautifully, the fight and light left the boy's eyes, and he fell limp. After another second, Murdoc let the boy's body fall into his arms. He was truly beautiful. The perfect specimen for his first beta. The boy was going to be even more beautiful once he was covered in blood and tears, doing anything Murdoc asked of him. This was the boy he'd been waiting for.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a bit shorter, but I wanted this section to all be its own part, and since we don't get a new ep for a while, I'll have more time to work on this instead of the episode tags. Also, the TAGS HAVE BEEN UPDATED, so please read them. That being said, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

Mac woke with his head pounding, and clouded with confusion. What had happened? And why did his neck feel so sore? As he slowly opened his eyes, he was greeted with darkness. He tried to move his hands to his neck, to feel where it was sore, but discovered that he couldn't move them. Mac's eyes shot wide open and he bolted ramrod straight. Pulling his hands again, Mac tried to look up at them. He could feel metal bands around his wrists, fastening them to the wall. Mac tried to take deep breaths over and over again to calm his racing heart and put his panic down. The memories were coming back, and they weren't fun. That completely irresistible need to go back out to the woods, seeing that alpha there, being unable to do anything to control his own body, being strangled. He needed to calm down. Hyperventilating wasn't going to help him. Escaping would.

Taking another deep breath, Mac focused all his energy and strength on breaking out of the restraints. Jack hadn't taught him how yet, but he was a newborn wolf, so tapping into that strength shouldn't be too difficult in this stressful of a situation. Mac tapped into the power, and could feel himself changing. It wasn't something he liked, but it was a necessary evil. He tensed his muscles and tried as hard as he could to break out of the shackles, but to no avail. Werewolves had superhuman strength, but that strength couldn't beat everything. Evidently these restraints were stronger than he was. With a sigh, Mac relaxed, and felt himself shift back to human. Due to the position his hands were in, he wouldn't be able to grab onto anything to pick the locks. That meant he was well and truly trapped. He couldn't get himself out. Mac pushed down another wave of panic. It was going to be fine. Pretty soon, Jack would realize that he was gone, and he would find him. Jack always found him. That fact that Mac was a werewolf now would only help them, because Mac's scent would be stronger, making it easier for Jack to track him down.

This left Mac time to look more carefully around himself. The room he was in was nothing special. It was almost completely bare, with the only light coming from under the door, which Mac assumed was locked. That being said, it was possible that it was just too dark to see the rest of the room. Maybe there would be something in there that Mac could use to get himself out if he could manage to break free from the restraints.

It was with a shudder that Mac realized it wasn't too dark to see that his shirt was missing, along with his socks and shoes, and the wrapping that had been over the wound. It wasn't bleeding, but Mac knew it was dangerous to keep a wound open to infection like that. He had no way of knowing what kinds of germs the wound could be exposed to, and it wouldn't heal like other wounds would. But why had that werewolf done that? Why had he done any of it? Mac certainly had a lot of angry questions to ask.

And it looked like he was going to have the opportunity to ask them sooner than he thought. Mac's eyes widened with fear as the door opened, but he quickly schooled his features into a scowl. He would not let this monster see his fear. Being a werewolf, the man could probably smell it anyway. There was no reason to give him any more ammunition against him.

It was harder than he thought not to shrivel under the alpha's gaze. Was that because of Mac's status as his beta? No matter what it was, Mac hated it, and he hated this man.

"You are quite exquisite, aren't you," the alpha said, breaking the silence first. He was looking at Mac with the hunger that he had never really seen before. Even under completely safe circumstances, that look still would've made him incredibly uncomfortable.

"What the hell do you want?" Mac asked - well, growled - tensing his muscles and pulling at the restraints again, even though he knew it wouldn't do anything. He could feel his fangs and claws growing, but at least this time it was because of his new werewolf instincts of self preservation - Jack would love that, having always claimed that Mac never had any of those such instincts - instead of because of the will of his alpha.

"I would've thought that was quite obvious at this point," the alpha said, in a voice way too casual for the situation. "I want you." His smile was sick. "That's why I made you what you are, that's why I took you here to my home. Because I wanted you, and know I have you." The werewolf took a few steps closer to Mac, and it was everything he could do to not pull himself back further against the wall.

"Why?" was all Mac asked. He took a few glances around the room, and noticed with disappointment that it was as bare as it had appeared to be in the dark. The fact that the alpha had left the door open was not lost on Mac. That meant he was extremely comfortable where he was, and had no worries about someone finding him. So he was probably somewhere relatively off the grid. It was unlikely that anyone would be able to hear him if he screamed for help. His pride wouldn't let him do that anyway.

"Because," the alpha almost purred - in the back of his mind, Mac knew that was pretty ironic for a werewolf, but the fear in his mind was much more powerful. The alpha leaned forward and grabbed the back of Mac's neck and cupped his jaw, with his lips right by his ear. Mac tried to pull away, but there wasn't anywhere to go. "You're perfect," he continued in a silky voice that sent shivers down Mac's spine. He slowly moved his hand down Mac's neck and across his chest, practically caressing him. Mac did everything he could to slow his heartrate, to not let this psycho know how panicked he was. Deep down, he knew it was pointless, and this alpha knew exactly the effect he was having on him.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I don't even know you," Mac responded, trying to melt into the wall he was shackled to. It didn't work.

"Who am I?" the alpha asked in mock offense, pulling back only slightly. His hand was still on Mac's chest, right above his rapidly beating heart. "I am your creator," he said. He leaned back in close to Mac, angling his eyes down in at him in a clear show of dominance. "I am your alpha," he growled. Mac immediately lowered his head and eyes in subservience. He tried to bring his gaze back up, but he couldn't. The alpha laughed. It was a cold, haunting sound. It held no warmth or mirth, and Mac never wanted to hear it again. "I'm your alpha, little Angus, and there's nothing you can do to disobey me."

"How do you know my name?" Mac immediately asked, trying to force down his panic. He was still looking down, not being able to force his gaze up quite yet.

That haunting laugh came again. "Like I said, I'm your alpha, and more than that, I'm Murdoc. I know everything there is to know about you." He finally drew his hand away from Mac's chest and took a step back. Mac could finally look up and regain some semblance of dignity. "I know your mommy died when you were five and your daddy abandoned you when you were ten. I know almost everyone you've ever loved has left you, and I know that little team of werewolves you call your family will leave you too. You've never really been a part of their pack, and you never will," Murdoc said, his smile sickly sweet.

"You don't know them," Mac insisted. "They are my family, they are my pack, and they're gonna come for me." He would never let this werewolf know that he had those same fears. Mac took a deep breath as subtly as he could. This psycho did know everything about him, and that was terrifying.

"I know you think of Dalton as your daddy now. You've treated him like your alpha for years now, but that's over." Murdoc bent down close to him once again. "I am your alpha now, and you will do whatever I tell you, whenever I tell you," he growled, his eyes flashing red. Mac lowered his head in submission once again. He closed his eyes to stop them from filling with tears. How could this werewolf he'd never even met have such an impact on him? He couldn't help but lower his head, and he hated it. He hated all of this and he was so damn scared. Any other time that he'd been in a situation even anything remotely like this, he'd always known that Jack was coming for him, and the werewolf had never had this kind of pull over him.

Murdoc's hand was back on his chest, then suddenly moved to his still healing wound. Mac tried to pull away, but he couldn't. Murdoc's claws quickly extended and sunk down into his wound, dragging the wound open and a scream from Mac's throat. He thrashed around and arched his back, trying to pull away. Murdoc laughed again, and dug even deeper into Mac's skin. He took his other hand, also featuring claws, and gripped Mac's jaw, forcing his head up.

"Such stunning eyes, bright blue," he said. "They glow beautifully too. But I prefer how they look with tears in them." Murdoc accentuated his words by pushing his claws in even deeper, drawing another scream. It quickly broke off into a sob. To his frustration, he couldn't stop the tears from falling. It felt like Murdoc had his claws wrapped around his very bones. He'd never felt anything like it before, and he never wanted to feel it again. "I know, little wolf, it hurts, doesn't it?" Murdoc asked in mock sympathy. But Mac wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a response. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked, whispering the question right into Mac's ear.

Of course Mac wanted him to stop, but he wasn't going to beg for it. He would not stoop that low. He still had some dignity left.

"No response? Okay, I guess I'll just dig my claws in a little more then," Murdoc said. Just as he said he would, he dug his claws in even further, causing Mac to practically howl in pain. He knew he was transforming due to the intensity of the pain, the change trying to kickstart the healing process, but he wouldn't heal at all until Murdoc removed his claws. "If you want me to stop, just tell me," Murdoc said, as casually as he would if he were ordering a burger. Mac could hear the smile in his voice. Once again, he dug in his claws just a little bit more, and Mac broke.

"Stop! Okay, stop, please!" he screamed, hating himself with every word. But his need for the pain to go away was greater than his want of pride.

"Okay," Murdoc simply replied, and withdrew his claws, drawing one more gasp of pain. Mac quickly bit down on his lip and closed his eyes, trying to get his breathing under control once again. He needed to calm down. He wasn't sure how long it was would take for his healing to kick in. The wound was deepened by claws, so it should heal relatively quickly - at least compared to when he was human - but it was was on top of the wound that turned him, which would never heal completely. His entire left side was drenched in blood, and he could feel the wound still bleeding freely. How long could he go losing this much blood? There was a lot more Mac didn't know about being a werewolf than he thought.

"See? That wasn't so hard," Murdoc continued, putting his hand on his hips. "You mustn't make this so difficult for yourself. You're going to be here for the rest of your life, so you may as well start to behave. Besides, you know I can make you do anything I want anyway." Once again, Murdoc crouched down right in front of him. Mac fought to stop himself from curling up in an attempt to get away from him. Murdoc reached out his blood-soaked hand and trailed it around Mac's bare chest, painting it with Mac's own blood. Mac shivered at the contact, and at the undisguised hunger and lust in Murdoc's eyes. "You're my beta, which means that you're my bitch, and I will make you my bitch in every single sense of the word." Mac couldn't stop his breathing from speeding up again as he began to panic. "Oh, little Angus. I'm an alpha werewolf, and all alphas need to mate."

That insinuation, so thinly veiled, snapped Mac out of his panic and spurred him into action. The action would accomplish nothing in the long run, but his instincts kicked in to protect himself in any way he could. Mac lashed out and kicked Murdoc away from him as hard as he could. He made contact and succeeded in pushing the psychopath away, and curled in on himself. He wolfed out and fought against his restraints as hard as he could, and kicked with all he had when Murdoc came back in front of him. But there was only so much he could do when Murdoc had this alpha influence over him that was quite literally impossible for him to resist.

"How adorable," Murdoc said. "You actually think you can stop this." He straddled Mac and leaned in close to his ear, cupping the back of his neck and holding him still. "You can't," he whispered into his ear.

Mac kept trying to fight back, but it was no use. He couldn't stop what was about to happen. Where was Jack? Jack always saved him, so where was he? Jack had to be coming, he had to be, he had to be, he had to be...


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I haven't been replying to your reviews. As the semester winds down, the work load really picks up, and makes me insanely busy. That being said, I do read every single review, and I can't even explain how much I appreciate them. So please, keep leaving them :) I hope you enjoy this chapter!!!

Something was wrong. Jack just knew it. It went beyond him being a werewolf and having those instincts, and it went beyond him being paranoid about the safety of the people he loved. He just knew that something was wrong, and he never should have left Mac alone. Most people would say it was just because he was still up in the middle of the night, and that was causing him to go temporarily crazy, but he knew that wasn't it.

Cursing, Jack stood up from the desk where he was working on some mission reports and ran his fingers through his sparse hair. He stared at the door. If he left to check on Mac, and everything was fine, Mac would accuse him of hovering and being a helicopter parent. But he just knew that everything wasn't fine, and Mac needed him. There was no harm in calling him at least. Jack picked up his phone and tapped on Mac's name. It was the first one on his speed dial list.

The phone rang. And rang. And rang. And it kept on ringing until Jack could hear Mac's melodious voice telling him that he couldn't make it to the phone, but he would call back as soon as he could, and to have a wonderful day. Of course Mac wished everyone who called him a wonderful day. Jack didn't know why that was what his brain chose to fixate on as he shoved his phone back in his pocket and grabbed his keys, but it was, because of course Mac would say that. Kindness was practically Mac's middle name, so Jack shouldn't have been surprised.

Jack tried to calm himself down as he walked out to his car, got in, and put it in gear. Maybe Mac had just fallen asleep, or was too busy working on a project, or something. Maybe, just maybe, Jack was wrong, and everything was fine. But deep down, Jack knew he wasn't wrong, but something was. Mac was in trouble. He just knew it. Fighting to keep his speed within the legal limit, Jack got over to Mac's house as quickly as he could, all the while praying to God above that he was wrong, and Mac would be fine.

It was not meant to be. Jack swore when he pulled into Mac's driveway to see the front door wide open. Mac would never leave that door open, never. Leaving outside doors open was one of Mac's biggest pet peeves. He slammed his car door shut and raced into the house.

"Mac!" he called out. There was no response. Jack searched the house, and finding the kid's phone on the coffee table, but no Mac. It was just barely after midnight, so Bozer wouldn't be back from the restaurant yet. Jack knew the younger man had been working a double shift and would close up, so he likely wouldn't be back for another hour. That gave Jack just a little bit of time to calm down and try to figure out where Mac was, but he had a terrible feeling that he already knew. It had to do something that wolf who turned him. It was the only explanation.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, quickly tapping on Matty's name. They needed to get a handle on this as quickly as possible, and find that kid.

"He's gone," Jack said the moment he heard Matty pick up. "Mac's gone, Matty, the door was wide open, his phone is sitting on the coffee table, and he's just gone." He started walking around the house again, just to be sure there wasn't anything he'd missed - despite the fact that he was a trained operative and knew already that he'd missed nothing.

"Okay, Jack, calm down," Matty said gently. "Are you sure something's wrong? Maybe he just went to clear his head and left the door open," she suggested. Jack tried to take a deep breath before replying.

"No way, that bastard alpha took him," Jack insisted. "He promised me he wouldn't leave the house, and Mac never breaks a promise, never." He walked over to the door and inspected it, as if there would be some clue there as to where Mac was taken. There wasn't.

"I'll send Riley over now, and I'll get there right after I pick Cage up from the airport," Matty said. "It's gonna be okay, we'll find him. You always find him."

"Just get here fast," Jack said, then hung up. He didn't have time to calm down or remember that he'd saved Mac countless times before. That kid was always getting himself into all kinds of trouble, but Jack had always been there to get him out of it. This would be no different.

Jack scoured the house one more time for any hint of what happened to Mac, but just like the first two times, there was nothing. He couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary, which meant that the alpha hadn't been in the house. That was a terrifying thought, because that meant that the alpha had gotten Mac to leave on his own accord - of course, consent was sketchy when it came to alphas, because their influence over their betas gave them powers of control over them, to a certain extent. Jack had never created his own beta, and he never planned on it unless it was to save someone's life. Besides, he had his own pack. The Dalton pack back in Texas was his, but he had his own pack in LA too. Riley and Mac were the closest things to betas he wanted or needed, and maybe even Bozer too. He may have learned of werewolves only recently, but he'd been a part of their family, of their pack, for a while now. Even Jill was almost part of their pack. Matty was slightly different, since she was an alpha too. When she killed the werewolf that bit her, she became her own alpha. But Jack was an alpha too, and neither one of them were totally willing to give up control to the other, so they just took co-leadership positions, both as alphas. Work was the only place were Matty truly was the alpha - aside from Patty, as Oversight, of course. But they were good alphas, who didn't have any of their own true betas - as far as Jack knew, of course, Patty was a bit more mysterious - and even if they did, would never use that power against anyone. They didn't use their strength unfairly, and would never hurt someone if they could help it. Jack knew that this new alpha did not have those same reservations. The hideous wounds he left Mac with had said enough. This alpha was perfectly willing to hurt Mac, and he even wanted to. Jack knew all about the urges that some alphas couldn't control. He never wanted Mac to be subjected to those. From the moment Jack became an alpha when his father passed away, he'd done everything he could to always control himself. It wasn't even that hard. There was no excuse not to. But someone as violent as the wolf who turned Mac would likely not care about morals at all, and would let every single one of his animal urges out on Mac. The very thought of the condition they might find Mac in turned Jack's stomach.

He was so lost in thought about the terrible things that might have been happening to Mac that Jack didn't even notice that Riley had arrived until she walked through the open door.

"What have you got?" she asked the moment she stepped through. Jack snapped out of his daze and turned to her.

"Mac's gone," he said.

"I know, Matty called me," she replied. "Do you have anything, any idea where he might be?"

Jack just shook his head and tried to focus on controlling his breathing. "No, but now that you're here, let's get going and follow his scent. Werewolves don't have an enhanced sense of smell for nothing." He turned and walked out the door. He hadn't wanted to wait for Riley, but he knew he shouldn't leave without backup, and Riley was pretty good backup to have.

"Shouldn't we wait for Matty and the Australian girl?" Riley asked, jogging to catch up.

Jack didn't even turn as he responded, "Mac doesn't have time." He kept walking, following the scent he knew better than his own. Hopefully, it would lead him straight to his kid.

"We're gonna find him," Riley insisted. Jack glanced over at her, and saw that trust in her eyes. She was counting on him to bring her little brother back, and Jack would be damned if he didn't do just that.

"I know," he muttered. "I'm not gonna stop until I find him and string up the alpha who turned him by his toes."

The scent led back to the trailhead where Mac was turned. Jack shook his head. He should've known. Taking a quick breath, Jack kept walking down the trail, his guard up.

"This is where he was turned," he whispered to Riley. "Stay sharp." He held out an arm in front of her slightly, to protect her, even though Jack knew it would do nothing, and Riley was fully capable of protecting herself. She'd been a wolf her whole life, and even though she would never be as powerful as some, she was one of the most capable wolves - and people - that Jack had ever met. He knew that she would do anything in her power to find Mac too.

They kept going down the trail for another few hundred yards, until Jack stopped abruptly. He stared at a tree, saying nothing, but seething with anger.

"The scent's gone, isn't it?" Riley asked. Being a halfblood, her sense of smell wasn't as strong as Jack's, so she could only really smell Mac in the places he often frequented. This scent trail wasn't enough for her to smell him.

"It ends here," Jack muttered, looking around. There had to be some other indication of where the kid was. "But there's fresh tire tracks. That has to be him," he said, hoping against hope. The trail was wide, and even though cars weren't technically allowed on the trail, a small car could still get through. The alpha must have thrown Mac into the trunk or something. That's the only way he could've gotten Mac out of there without leaving his scent.

"I can work with that," Riley responded. She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the tracks. She quickly pulled her rig out of her backpack and plugged her phone in. Jack didn't know exactly how it worked, but within the minute, the picture was uploaded onto her laptop, and pictures of different types of tires were flying across the screen. "Here we go," she said, a small smile on her face. "The tires could belong to any of these three cars, but only the ones made between 2000 and 2004: a Chevy Impala, Toyota Camry, or Nissan Altima. That's all I got right now."

"Well, that's more than we had five minutes ago," Jack replied. "Let's go regroup with Matty and that Cage girl and maybe we can get some traffic footage around the trailhead or something like that." There was no way that Jack was letting this be the end of the trail. He would fight to find Mac with every breath. Deadends could not exist.

Ten minutes later, they were back at Mac's house. Jack was tapping his fingers impatiently as Riley pulled up the closest traffic cameras to the trailhead.

"The problem is that those are popular cars, and this is LA. We have no way of knowing which of these cars in this area have anything to do with Mac, or that alpha. We're looking for a needle in a haystack, Jack," she said with a sigh, shaking her head.

"It's Mac. We're looking anyway," Jack gruffly replied. He turned away from Riley and her search to take a breath and calm himself. Getting mad at Riley wasn't going to help Mac. It wasn't her fault, and she didn't deserve to bear the brunt of Jack's anger and fear.

"Just because Mac left the door open doesn't mean you have to."

Jack turned to the door and saw Matty standing there with a twig thin woman with dyed blonde hair with brown roots that were starting to grow out. He didn't even hear them pull into the driveway. Either Jack was losing his senses, or he was too worried about Mac to notice these things.

Matty closed the door behind her and gave Jack a small smile. "Jack, Riley, this is Samantha Cage. She'll be helping with our investigation, and the search for MacGyver."

"I know you don't know me, and have no reason to trust me, but I promise that I am going to do everything I can to bring your friend back," she said with a thick Australian accent. "And I know you're going to ask, so just to clear things up, I was bitten by a werewolf shortly after joining the SAS Regiment by a Navy SEAL I was working with. He did it to save my life. Without the healing powers of a werewolf, the gunshot wound I had received would have caused my death before he would've reached help. Matty already briefed me on the two of you and MacGyver, and his roommate, who, by the way, is pulling into the driveway."

Jack glanced out the window and saw that Cage was right. Bozer had just pulled into the driveway, and was staring curiously at the collection of cars already there. This conversation wasn't going to be fun.

"Let me do the talking," Matty said. "He respects me, and he knows not to challenge me." Jack wanted to fight her on it, but she was right. There was a smaller chance of Bozer blowing up at Matty than anyone else.

"What's goin' on?" Bozer asked the moment he stepped into the house. "Where's Mac? Shouldn't you guys all be asleep?" He took off his hat from the restaurant as well as his apron and tossed them onto the island. "Are you having some super secret party I can't know about," he said, looking pointedly at Jack.

"There's no need to make thinly veiled jabs, Bozer, we all know you know, and no, you're not in any trouble," Matty quickly said. "This is Samantha Cage, and she's one too. But this isn't about you, or her. It's about Mac. Do you know where he may have gone last night?"

"What do you mean 'last night'? It's only 1am. You mean tonight?" Bozer clarified, although his eyes went wide the moment Matty said she knew that he knew. "If he was doin' something, he didn't tell me anything about it. But I guess he hasn't told me about a lot of stuff recently," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"He couldn't tell you," Jack growled. They'd already had that conversation, and Bozer would get over it, but even the very idea that this could somehow be Mac's own fault set Jack on fire. He would not accept that, not even from Bozer.

"Jack," Matty said through clenched teeth, throwing a glare in his direction. Turning back to Bozer, she continued, saying, "Mac is gone, and we think he was taken by the alpha who bit him. We're trying to find him now."

Bozer just stared at them all wide-eyed for a moment before answering, "the alpha? Now what, exactly, does that mean?"

"It means he can force Mac to do whatever he wants and Mac is powerless to stop it, Boze!" Jack nearly shouted at him, feeling his fangs come out and eyes start to change. He just couldn't handle this at the moment. "We don't have time to answer all your werewolf questions while Mac is out there somewhere, bein' subjected to who knows what by this psychopath, and he's countin' on us to get to him, and answerin' all of your questions isn't helpin' him." Jack ignored Bozer's slightly hurt look and turned back to Riley. "And please tell me you've got somethin' else to go on to find him," he pleaded. He knew his accent had thickened significantly in his anger, but he couldn't care less.

"Agent Dalton, calm down," Matty ordered, her own eyes glowing that same amber as Jack's, leaving no room for negotiation. "Now I know you're terrified for Mac, we all are, but yelling at Bozer for asking perfectly normal questions isn't going to help anyone, least of all Mac, and you already know that Riley is doing everything she can. If she had something, I guarantee you would be the first person she told. So calm down, and zip it." Her eyes still glowed, and Jack could see small claws protruding from her fingers. Jack knew better than to respond. "Bozer," Matty continued, her voice much calmer, and her eyes back to their regular brown. "I promise you that I will personally answer all of your questions that I can. When this investigation gets to the point where all I can do is wait, then answering your questions will be the first thing that I do, okay?"

Bozer nodded, his eyes kind, and understanding. "I may still be pissed off, but Mac is still my best friend. What can I do to help?" he asked.

"You can start by getting us all some coffee, because you're right. It's 1am, and we're all tired," Matty replied with a gentle smile.

"Okay, you got it," Bozer quietly responded. He rubbed his hands together and headed into the kitchen, giving Jack a sad smile on the way over. What had they done to deserve Bozer? The man may have had his occasional outbursts, but usually, he was nothing but kind and understanding and unflinchingly loyal - he and Mac had that in common. He didn't hold grudges for more than a week at the most, generally forgiving within the hour. Seeing that Bozer had already forgiven him for yelling at him just made Jack feel even worse, but he couldn't help it. When Mac was in danger, it was like his brain shortcircuited, with nothing but Mac taking up any space in his mind at all. Mac was all that mattered. And sometimes, that meant that he hurt other people that he cared about too. That was one of the many reasons why Mac being in such terrible danger was something that Jack hated so much.

"I believe I was brought in from Australia for profiling and analysis, so if you could give me everything you have on this guy, I can get a start on it if you'd like," Cage said, drawing everyone's attention back to the situation at hand.

"Yeah, just give me one second," Riley quickly replied. She pulled out her second laptop - Jack always carried a spare gun, so she always carried a spare laptop - and did whatever it was that she did on it and pulled up their growing file on the alpha. "This is all we have so far. You can use my backup rig as long as you'd like, just please don't break it," she said with a smile, handing it over to Cage.

"I'll do my best, usually I only break things when I intend to," she responded, taking the laptop and a seat at the table.

This left Jack with the terrible fate of having nothing to do to help further the investigation. Matty suggested that he get some rest, but that wasn't going to happen until Mac was safe back in his arms, right where he belonged. All he could do now, was wait.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter could be considered just as dark as the last one with Murdoc, but nothing actually happens. Things are just talked about. Once again, I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to your reviews. Life has gotten crazy busy, but mostly in a good way. That being said, I still read every single one, and I appreciate them more than I can describe. Thank you for them all :) I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

Mac couldn't move. Even with his enhanced healing abilities, it still hurt too much to move. After the first time, Murdoc unchained him from the wall and attached the cuffs to a ring in the floor to give him more access to Mac's body. The pain didn't become any lesser with each time Murdoc used him, it hurt worse than anything Mac had ever experienced each and every time. He cried out and screamed and begged for Murdoc just to stop, to not do this, to do anything but this, but he didn't listen. If anything, Mac's pleas only spurred the alpha on more, causing him to be even rougher. After at least an hour of it, maybe more, Murdoc finally stopped, having exhausted himself too much, in both human and wolf form. Werewolf stamina could only get him so far. When he left, Mac only cried more. He couldn't believe that this had actually happened. Having worked with Jack for years, he knew there were some alphas out there that only created betas for this very reason, but he never even thought he would ever be a werewolf, much less be turned into one by a psychopath who only turned him so that he could forcibly mate. Something like that was never something Mac thought could happen to him, but it did. He thought that Jack would always be there to save him, just like he'd always been before, but he wasn't. Jack hadn't been there to save him, and now, Mac was bound to that alpha - his alpha - forever. He let his head fall to his arms to hide more tears, even though there wasn't anyone there watching him.

On the hand, all he wanted was for Jack to burst through the door and get him out of there, to hold him and tell him that it was all gonna be okay. But he also was just so humiliated that he didn't know if he ever wanted to see Jack again. How could he look Jack in the eye after what had been done to him? Would Jack even be able to look at him? What would he see if he looked in Jack's eyes? Disgust? Anger? Pity? Mac didn't know which was worse. No matter what, it wouldn't be good, and Mac didn't want to see any of it. Although clearly it didn't matter what Mac didn't want anymore. Murdoc certainly didn't care.

The clang of the locked door being undone made him flinch. Mac quickly curled up as much as he could, pushing through the pain in order to give himself a bit more privacy, despite the fact that Murdoc had seen it already. Of course, the psychopath hadn't bothered to replace Mac's jeans or boxers, which had literally been torn off him by Murdoc's claws.

Mac tried to quell his growing panic. He couldn't take it again. It hadn't been that long, there was no way that Murdoc could be back for more already. He could feel Murdoc's predatory gaze on him, and fought to keep himself from shuddering under it. Slowly, he lifted his head up to look at the alpha. He would not willingly show that subservience and fear that he felt, not if he could help it. So no matter how much he didn't want to look at the man, and wanted to keep his head relaxed and low, resting on his arms, he looked up at Murdoc with a scowl on his face, showing as much defiance and anger as he could. He could be broken while he was alone, but he would not let this werewolf see that. Just because he sobbed while Murdoc was gone didn't mean that he was done fighting, that he was just going to let Murdoc force him to mate again and again and again. He would fight against him with every breath, until he didn't have any more breaths to give. Jack was still coming, he knew it. He just had to last long enough for Jack to find him. Jack would want him to fight back. Riley would want him to kick and claw and scream with everything he had. Matty would want him to be strong and not to give in to this man. Bozer would want him to do whatever it took to get back home. He could do this. He could survive. He had to.

"You try quite hard to hide your fear, but I can still smell it," Murdoc said with that sickly sweet smile. He walked over to Mac and crouched down beside him. Mac tensed up, but didn't move. "But really," he continued, then quickly reached out and grabbed a fistful of Mac's hair. He yanked it back and forced Mac to bare his neck. Murdoc moved closer and put his mouth right next to Mac's ear. "It's a great smell on you," he finished in a whisper. Mac fought not to shiver, but he could feel himself failing. Murdoc violently pulled Mac's head forward and released his grip on his hair, standing up.

Mac refused to dignify the man's words with a response. He continued to stare at him in anger, silently. At least Murdoc was fully clothed. If he intended to go another few rounds, then he probably wouldn't have bothered with the black trenchcoat. Either way, the coat was ridiculous and excessive. At least Mac had that to laugh about.

"This is Los Angeles," he finally said. "What's with the hideous trenchcoat?" Mac allowed himself to smirk. He didn't really care what Murdoc did to him for that. He had to show the werewolf that he wasn't done fighting, that he would keep fighting until his death.

"Oh, MacGyver," Murdoc replied with a smile and a shake of his head. "How do you know that we're even still in LA?" Mac fought to keep his face passive. The thought that Murdoc might have taken them far away hadn't even occurred to him. He'd just figured they were still somewhere in LA - it was a big city, after all. "I have certainly hidden you away, and I'm afraid your precious pack won't be able to find you. You're mine now. You're in my pack, you're my beta, and my bitch." Murdoc's smile slowly fell, and changed into an angry scowl. "They won't be taking you away from me, and I get to mate with you whenever I want." He crouched down in front of Mac again and took his chin in a harsh, bruising grip. "You're quite lucky you're a male, and can't be bred, or else I would make you make me some little betas too. Other than that," Murdoc's scowl quickly turned right back into that crazed smile. "You're quite perfect, my dear Angus. But I guess they say everyone has flaws. Yours is that you can't have puppies."

Mac did everything he could not to throw up. Although his stomach was nearly empty, he could feel it churning, and felt nauseous at Murdoc's words. The way he talked about Mac like he was nothing but an object to fulfill Murdoc's pleasure, like he was some dog that Murdoc wanted to breed, made Mac physically sick. But he couldn't throw up. He couldn't show that weakness. He had to be strong until Jack got there. Because Jack was going to get there, Mac just knew it. Jack always came for him, and maybe he was a little late this time, but he was still coming. No matter how far away Murdoc had dragged him, Jack was still going to find him. He always did. This time wasn't going to be any different.

Mac tried to breathe slowly and force the nausea away. "I guess your fatal flaw is that you're a psychopath," he growled at the werewolf. He would not let this man destroy him. He could force him to mate as many times as he wanted, but Mac would not let himself be broken, he would not let him win.

"Well I wouldn't really call it a flaw, but that's a matter of opinion I guess," Murdoc quickly replied with a shrug of his shoulders and a wave of a hand.

"Why are you even here?" Mac asked, letting all of his annoyance and anger seep into his voice. "To gloat? To use me again for your own psychotic pleasure? Whatever it is, just do it already so I don't have to listen to your voice anymore." Mac shook his head and rolled his eyes. No matter the fact that he knew Murdoc could still smell his fear, at least he was putting up a good front. On the inside, he was crying and screaming for Murdoc to just let him go. That would get him nowhere in actuality. What he was doing probably wouldn't get him anywhere good either, but at least it would preserve even the smallest amount of his dignity.

"Oh my dearest MacGyver, as much as I would love to get down and dirty with you again, I'm afraid that will have to wait a little longer. I may have much better stamina than a measly human, but even werewolves need some time to work all that back up again. Besides," Murdoc paused, that sick smile slowly spreading across his face again. Despite the circumstances, Mac couldn't help but think of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. "The longer I wait, the harder I can go." The man was practically licking his lips as he stared at Mac hungrily. "But I'm here to... test something, I guess." Murdoc stared at him with a curious gaze, but that gaze quickly shifted to something akin to anger, but not quite. There was some intensity and determination to it that scared Mac. "I want you to change," Murdoc said, flashing his eyes red and leaning forward.

Mac immediately bowed his head down and felt his claws and fangs grow, as much as he tried to stop it. He could feel his ears and hair growing longer, and all of his other werewolf features coming out. Taking a deep breath, Mac tried to force himself to change back to human, but he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't change back, and he couldn't raise his head to look at Murdoc.

"How wonderful," Murdoc practically purred. "You're so beautiful as a wolf, especially here, naked and chained down, at my mercy." Murdoc stepped forward and rested a hand in Mac's hair. He wanted to pull away, but he couldn't. He couldn't even shudder in fear and disgust at the psychopath's words, even though his mind was going insane with fear. "I could anything I wanted to you right now, and you couldn't fight at all. Normally I find the fight to be the best part, but there is something quite intoxicating about seeing you like this." Murdoc began to runs his claws through Mac's hair, almost like he was petting him, and Mac still couldn't move. "You're so pliant. I could make you do anything, in any position." He finally let go and went back to standing in front of him. "Look at me," he growled.

Once again, Mac couldn't help but immediately bring his head up to meet Murdoc's glowing red eyes. He was sure that Murdoc could see the fear in his own eyes, and the tears of frustration that were starting to fill them, no matter how hard Mac tried ot fight it. He couldn't seem to successfully fight anything. Maybe that was why he was in this position. If he couldn't successfully fight back, then maybe he deserved whatever happened to him. Maybe it was all his own fault. Maybe Jack should just leave him there and forget about him. In the back of his mind, Mac knew that was his father's voice in his head, and not his own, but he didn't care. It was the truth, so it didn't matter whose voice it was.

"So beautiful," Murdoc whispered. He took a step forward and gently wiped away the one tear that had managed to fall. The move was far too gentle for someone as cruel as Murdoc. It was as gentle as Jack, and that was just wrong coming from Murdoc. None of this was okay. "Rest up, Angus. You're in for a wild ride tonight," Murdoc said with a chuckle. He let go of him and turned, with a flourish of his trenchcoat, and walked away.

The moment the lock on the door clicked into place, Mac changed back to his human form, and the rest of the tears fell.

...

The boy was so beautiful. His fear was so overwhelming, and it was invigorating to Murdoc. Even when he tried to be strong, Murdoc could still smell his fear, and could still see that he was breaking. Mating with him was even more amazing than Murdoc thought it would be. The way he fought and screamed and cried out was everything Murdoc needed. Nothing had ever been as satisfying or pleasurable as the MacGyver boy, and mauling all of those other people to death had been amazing. The boy was simply intoxicating. Seeing him fight against the pull Murdoc had over him only made Murdoc want him more. He wanted to have another go at him, but he knew it would be better to wait for the evening. The boy needed just a little bit more time to recover. Murdoc wanted him broken, of course, but not too soon. All good things come to those who wait, so Murdoc would wait until nightfall to break the boy again. Besides, if he waited longer, then his own stamina would be better, and he could go even longer. The previous night, by the time he was done, the boy was a sobbing, shivering, broken mess. Murdoc hoped to make it even better, although he couldn't imagine how it could get much better than that.

Throughout his life as a werewolf, killing had always been what relaxed him the most. The feeling of blood, of life, running down his claws and fangs, was indescribable. He didn't know why he was the way he was, but he wouldn't have it any other way. Maybe it was due to his creation, which was unconventional at best. His father bit his mother while she was pregnant with him, turning them both. Murdoc didn't remember killing them, but he knew he did. It must have happened while he was still so young that he wouldn't remember it. He'd been killing as long as he could remember, and it was fun. But even murder got boring after so many years. Murdoc needed more.

As an alpha, he knew he needed to mate. That urge had been present for quite a while, but no one was ever the right one. He'd forced many men and women to mate with him, but they were never enough, and he always ripped their throats out when he was done. A passing pleasure was all they ever gave him. But this boy, he was different. There was just something about him. Murdoc could feel his goodness, his purity of heart, his kindness of soul. He could feel it and he needed to be the cause of that light going out. Nothing else mattered but that boy. So he found out everything he could about him, and relished in the act of turning him, of tackling him to the ground and biting his shoulder, shoving his fangs so deep into his flesh that maybe the wound would never heal, of hearing his scream of pain, of smelling his sudden fear in it's full intensity. It was all amazing, and it was only getting better.

If Murdoc wanted to, he could hurt little Angus more. He could break his legs and make him scream that way. That was quite a wonderful idea. They would heal in a day or two, and then he could do it again, and again, and again. That was the beauty of werewolf healing. Aside from that initial bite, everything would heal. By the time Murdoc went back down to the cellar to have his way with the boy again, he would be healed from the roughness of the previous night. So there was no reason why he shouldn't break the boy's legs when he was done with him this time. Within a day or two, they would be healed, good as new. The idea was simply intoxicating, and made him even more excited to get back down to little Angus and remind him of the power of an alpha.

Murdoc relaxed back into the rocking chair. That wasn't usually his style, but the farmers he murdered in that very house had seemed to like it a lot, and he figured there must be a reason for that. So there he sat, enjoying his steak made from one the many people he'd killed, and fantasized about what he would do the beautiful boy locked in the cellar. The sun was setting, and when the darkness came, it would be time to show the boy just how brutal the darkness could be.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your wonderfully kind reviews!!! I cannot even explain how happy they make me. My semester ends April 26th, so hopefully I'll be able to get back in the habit of responding to reviews then :) I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

It had been exactly three hours and sixteen minutes since Jack was left to pace while Cage built her psychological profile of the alpha and Riley searched for more information on him. Jack had been slowly pacing for every single one of those one hundred and ninety-six minutes. If Mac had been there, he would've called it Jack's personal best. That thought was the first thing that stopped Jack in his tracks. If Mac were there, they wouldn't be in this mess. That damn kid meant everything to Jack, and now, he was in the hands of some maniac.

Jack rubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath to quell the sudden onslaught of what almost felt like grief. They were gonna get him back, it was gonna be okay. It had to be.

"Please tell me you've got something," he softly said to Riley, in an almost broken whisper. She only looked at him, and shook her head with a frown. Jack closed his eyes and turned away. Matty had already warned him against talking to Cage until she was done, and he didn't want to talk to Bozer. He didn't want to talk to anyone but Mac.

Shaking his head, Jack walked down the hallway into Mac's bedroom. He wasn't helping anyone out there anyway. His eyes slowly searched the room, landing on everything that made it so clearly Mac's: the decorations made out of paperclips, the random things strewn across the desk and counter that had been left as part of a half finished project, the seven blankets on the bed, because Mac was just always cold. That's why the kid always wore so many layers. Jack slowly walked up to the bed and sat down. He reached out and rested his hand on those blankets. The one on top was the softest, and one that Jack had given Mac for his birthday. He smiled. Mac really loved soft things, and always complained about it when the weather got too warm for flannel sheets - "they're just so much softer than regular sheets." Jack pulled the blanket closer to him and breathed in Mac's scent. He tried not to think about what could be happening to Mac in that moment. It was after four o'clock in the morning, and Jack just knew that Mac was hurt. He just knew it.

Jack tried to take a deep breath and calm his racing thoughts. They were going to find him. They had to.

...

Eventually, unintentionally, Jack fell asleep there on Mac's bed. He'd been up for far too long, and the constant state of worry he was in while his kid was in danger did his exhaustion no favors. Maybe it was for the best that he'd gotten some rest. He was no use to Mac dead on his feet.

"I've waited long enough," he said loudly, almost shouting, as he walked down the hallway and back out into the kitchen. Riley was still sitting there at her laptop, looking exhausted. Cage looked quite similar. Matty looked a bit better, as if she'd gotten a small bit of rest like Jack had. He checked his watch, and saw that it was almost noon. He wanted to kick himself for sleeping so long, but there was nothing he could do to change that. Besides, it wasn't as if there was anything he could do until they had a lead on where his kid was. "If you don't have any leads on Mac, I'm gonna start bustin' down every door in LA until I find him myself," he finished.

"Well, I think I've got a pretty good profile on this alpha, and I can share what I have so far if you'd like," Cage said, her accent thicker with her obvious exhaustion. Jack made a face at her as if to say "duh" and motioned with a hand for her to start talking. He walked over to her and looked over her shoulder at the laptop. Matty and Riley joined him. Cage glanced back at them before continuing, "what I've been able to gather so far is that this man has likely been a werewolf for all of his remembered life. He is incredibly arrogant and believes himself superior to everyone else, wolf or not." She pulled up the crime scenes pictures on the laptop, and Jack shook his head in disgust. "He kills without remorse, and simply because he enjoys it. This alpha seems to be an honest to goodness psychopath, which means that he thinks he's too good to get caught. So he's going to mess up eventually due to his arrogance, and when he does, your agent will have the opportunity to escape, and we can find him-"

"We have no idea how long it's gonna be until then, and I'm not leavin' Mac with that psycho until then either," Jack interrupted with a growl.

"I wasn't finished," Cage growled right back, narrowing her eyes, which were now slightly glowing hazel. Jack vaguely remembered Matty saying something about Cage having a fiery temper, which was exacerbated by the fact that she was a wolf. "As I was saying," she continued in a normal voice. "He thinks he's too good to get caught, so he's going to make a mistake, and he probably already has." She narrowed her eyes again at Jack. "These murders all happened in these woods, just outside of LA." She pulled up a map that had all of the murders marked on them. "Of course, they were dubbed bizarre animal attacks, so they were never thoroughly investigated, but all serial killers have a pattern. Those killed were all hikers in this area of the woods-" she outlined the area on the map with her finger "-which is near a lot of farms and cabins. This werewolf probably lives somewhere near them." Cage closed the laptop with a snap and turned to look at everyone.

"The three of you, start hitting those farms immediately," Matty ordered. "I'll stay here with Bozer, call me as soon as you have something. Now go get our boy back."

Jack nodded and checked his gun, even though he already knew it was fully loaded with silver bullets. He didn't wait for Riley and Cage as he made his way out the door and out to his GTO. Tapping the steering wheel impatiently, Jack was forced to wait as Riley and Cage finally joined him in the car, Riley sitting in the passenger seat and Cage in the back.

"We're gonna get him back," Riley said, her eyes big and brown and filled with nothing but trust and faith in him.

"Yeah, I know," Jack muttered in reply. "I'm not gonna stop looking until I find him and bring him home." All he could think about while he drove was the condition they might find Mac in. What if it was too late? What if that bastard alpha had already hurt him so much that the kid would never be the same? He refused to believe that Mac was dead for several reasons, the first and foremost being that Jack would feel it in his very soul if his kid were gone. But it just wasn't logical for the alpha to have killed him. Why would he have turned him, and then kidnapped him, if he was just going to kill him? That just didn't make sense. But what did make sense was almost worse. The alpha had probably kidnapped his kid to force him to be his mate. Jack had seen it happen before, where sadistic alphas would turn innocent people into werewolves just so they could mate. He'd killed many of those alphas around the world, freeing their betas from their influence forever. If that turned out to be the case with Mac's alpha too, then Jack wouldn't hesitate to rip the wolf's throat out with his teeth. He would enjoy it too. No one hurt his kid and got away with it, especially not like that.

The very thought that Mac could be in that situation turned his stomach, almost to the point where he had to pull over to throw up. But he couldn't stop for that. Mac needed him as soon as possible, and he didn't have the time to stop. Jack would rather throw up in his beloved GTO than leave his kid in the hands of that monster for one second longer.

Much sooner than it should have taken - Jack wasn't known to follow traffic laws when one of his kids was in danger - they were on the outskirts of LA, only a few more minutes away from the farms where they believed the alpha may have taken Mac.

"Hey, guys, what's our plan here?" Cage asked. "Just go up to every door and ask if they've seen some blond teenage prodigy anywhere?"

"He's not a teenager," Jack muttered distractedly. "But yeah, basically."

"Could have fooled me," she replied. Jack chose to ignore the jab at Mac looking so young, because really, even though he wasn't a teenager, he was still a kid, and he didn't deserve any of this.

"It's not ideal," Riley added. "But we don't have search warrants or anything like that, so we just have to hope that the people living here are willing to be honest with us. Besides, Jack is really good at telling when people are lying."

Her attempt at getting Jack to smile or crack a joke fell flat. He appreciated her effort, but Jack wasn't going to be able to smile until his kid was safe in his arms once again.

Jack opened the door of the car the moment he put it in park, and got out. Riley and Cage quickly followed him up to the front door of the first farmhouse they'd come across. He rang the doorbell and impatiently tapped his foot. They didn't have the time to wait for lazy people to take their sweet time in answering the door. Finally, a middle aged man opened it.

"Have you seen a skinny blond kid anywhere around here in the past two days?" Jack asked before the man had a chance to even greet them. He could tell from the moment the man opened the door that he wasn't a wolf.

"Here's a picture of him," Riley said, bringing up a family picture of her, Mac, and Jack on her phone from the previous Christmas. It was a picture that Bozer had taken. "He's missing, and we just really want to find him. We're really worried," she said, perfectly playing the part of the distraught sister - of course, it wasn't really an act at all.

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen him," the man replied, a frown appearing on his face. Jack could tell that it was genuine. "I hope you find him."

"If you see him, or even hear anything, please call us," Cage said, stepping forward and handing the man a business card.

He gave them a sad smile and nodded. "Will do," he said.

This pattern continued for the next several hours. They went from farm to farm, asking all around about Mac. No one seemed to have seen him, and Jack could tell that they were all telling the truth. None of them were wolves, either, and Jack was getting more frantic by the second. He kept reminding himself to breathe and take deep breaths, just like he always told Mac, but he was just so freaking scared for his kid, and they didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

After they'd visited all the farms on that side of the forest, they ventured into it, seeking out all the cabins and houses there, hoping for something, anything, that would bring them closer to Mac. They couldn't catch his scent anywhere, and it was getting close to evening.

"I know you don't want to hear this," Cage said, her voice gentle. "But based on my profile of this alpha, he's much more likely to hurt MacGyver at night, and the sun is beginning to set."

Deep down, Jack had already figured as much. Psychopaths always loved the cover of darkness. But knowing that in advance didn't lessen his panic at all. That monster was going to hurt his boy if he couldn't find him in time.

"So we better get a lead on him soon," Jack muttered in reply.

They continued on, stopping at every residence there was, with no avail. No one had seen Mac, and the werewolves didn't catch his scent anywhere. The sun was on the horizon when they stopped at one of the last cabins on the far side of the woods.

As he always did, Jack began to speak the moment the door was opened, this time by a young man probably only a few years older than Mac. He was already holding up a picture of Mac before he even started speaking. "Have you seen him anywhere within the past two days?" he asked. "He's my kid and he's missin' and I just wanna find him." Jack knew he was sounding more and more desperate with every house they went to, but he couldn't help it. He was very desperate.

"No, I'm sorry," the young man said with a shake of his head. "Did he go missing around here? Because if he did, I have an idea where he might be."

"Where? What do you know?" Jack asked roughly, leaning forward a bit. If the young man was taken aback by Jack's phrasing, he didn't show it. It didn't matter that Mac hadn't been taken from that area. If this guy knew something, Jack was going to question him until he got answers, no matter what he had to do to get them.

"There's an old abandoned farmhouse out that way-" he pointed behind his cabin "-a few miles. The people that lived there were murdered a long time ago, I think some others too, and the police never caught the guy that did it. The place has just been left there ever since. It's a bit under the radar for most of them, but some thrill seekers go there. Your son may have gone there and gotten stuck somehow. You know old farmhouses, weak boards and everything." The young man finished with a nod. "I hope you find him."

"Thank you so much," Riley said, a smile on her face for the first time in hours. Normally, Jack would've glared at the man for checking her out, but he couldn't muster up the energy to do it. The only thing on his mind was finding Mac, and that meant that some young man admiring a beautiful woman had to be let to slip.

"That fits the profile," Cage said, quickly walking back over to the car, almost at a jog. "If I were a betting woman, I would bet that's where the alpha is." She quickly got in the car.

"That's where we're goin'," Jack said. "And Mac better be there in one piece." He quickly pulled out his phone and tapped on Matty's name. "We've got a real lead, an old farmhouse where an unsolved murder happened, we're on our way there now." He handed Riley the phone, not even waiting for Matty to reply, and let Riley explain to their boss how she was going to do computer stuff and try to figure stuff out. Jack wasn't listening anymore. He'd tuned out everything but the voice inside his head screaming in pain, crying out for help. It was Mac's voice. Jack shook his head. It was just his imagination. They were going to find Mac, and everything was going to be okay.

Not nearly soon enough for Jack's liking, they came out of the woods and saw the old farmhouse the young man must have been speaking of. It looked ordinary enough, but Jack could tell there was something sinister lying in wait. He put the car in park and opened the door. There was no sense in driving it all the way up to house if a werewolf really did live there. The alpha, especially an alpha that powerful, would be able to hear them coming if they did that. Cars were loud. At least this way, they had at least a chance of getting the element of surprise.

Riley and Cage got out the car, and all three of them stood there for a moment, smelling the air.

"He's here, I know it," Jack said. As an alpha himself, and a born wolf, he had the strongest sense of smell out of the three of them. "I can smell his scent, I know he's here," he said, shaking his head a bit in desperation. He made a move to start running towards the house.

Cage quickly grabbed his arm, stopping him. "I know you want to just rush in there, but that's not a good idea. Just because the sun is down now doesn't mean he can't see us," she warned. "We have to move stealthily if we're going to save MacGyver."

Jack glared at Cage, but knew she was right. He turned to Riley, only to notice that she was gone. Confused, he turned back around and saw her several paces in front of them already. Despite it all, Jack couldn't help the corner of his mouth turning up. Riley was an incredible agent, and the stealthiest person - wolf or human - that Jack had ever met.

But Jack's internal praise of his girl was cut short when a vicious scream cut the night. And this time, it wasn't just in his head.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said this wasn't gonna get any more dark? Yeah I was wrong. BUT the really dark stuff isn't graphic at all, so you should still be okay. The tags have been updated though. I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

Throughout most of the day, Mac had been left alone. Murdoc had only come to taunt him that one time, leaving him by himself the rest of the day. He certainly didn't enjoy it, being alone in that dark cellar, naked and shivering in the cold, but it was better than Murdoc being there. Mac could feel his stomach growling every now and then, and his throat was parched. His cries and screams certainly weren't helping his throat either. Mac wasn't sure how starvation and dehydration worked for werewolves, and although he knew he wasn't anywhere close to either one of those being an actual problem yet, they weren't something that he was eager to find more about.

Sadly, many hours later, Mac's solitude ended. He tried to suppress his shiver when the door opened with a loud creak, and Murdoc waltzed in. He wasn't wearing the overcoat this time, just a long sleeve black shirt and black pants. Mac knew what was coming, and tried again to break the chains holding him to the ground. Just like the countless times he'd tried that before, it didn't work. And of course, Murdoc just had to mention that.

"Oh, silly little wolf," he said. "Why do you even try? You can't break those chains, and you're smart enough to know that." Murdoc crouched down right next to him, that creepy smile always on his face. "But I have a proposition for you! Now, we're going to have some fun tonight - well, I'm going to have fun. You probably won't yet. It will still take some time before you learn to enjoy this, but please know that it will happen. I am your alpha, and despite the pain, every time we mate, you will crave it more and more," he finished in a whisper, right in Mac's ear. "But!" he shouted loudly and suddenly, making Mac flinch. He abruptly stood up and clapped his hands together. "Back to my proposition. I don't really feel like fighting you that much tonight. I fought you so much last night, and while that was incredible, I just want to shake things up a bit, ya know?" he said as calmly and happily as if he were discussing a bright sunny day. "So tonight, you won't be fighting me, but I'll let you pick how that happens. Option one: I force you into submission by simply telling you too, and you will obey me." Murdoc accentuated his point by flashing his eyes, causing Mac to instinctively drop his head and go completely still. Try as he might, he couldn't raise it back up again until Murdoc turned back fully human. "Option two: I break your legs, making every move you make so excruciating that you don't even move at all." This time, Mac couldn't suppress the shudder Murdoc's words gave him. Neither option was good.

What was the point of this? Just to humiliate Mac more? They both knew that Mac couldn't escape anyway, so all of this only served to make him feel worse. He either dealt with more unbearable pain, or he let this monster use his influence as his alpha over him. They seemed equally terrible, so Mac just glared up at Murdoc, trying to keep his breathing calm and even. He couldn't panic.

"Oh, come on, you must have a preference," Murdoc said with a laugh.

"I'd prefer it if you let me go," Mac growled back. He could feel himself shifting, and this time it was without Murdoc's influence. That scared him a bit, but he knew it was okay. It was what Jack would do too.

"Well," Murdoc started, his expression growing dark as he began to change too. "If you're really in such a fighting mood, then maybe it's best if I just do both, just to be sure."

As Murdoc began to walk around him, Mac began to lash out as best he could. It didn't matter what Murdoc did to him. He absolutely would not go down without a fight. But no matter which form either one of them were in, Murdoc was stronger than him. So there was nothing Mac could do when Murdoc harshly gripped one of his legs, and snapped it. Nothing he could do but scream, and scream he did. This was just as bad as what Murdoc did the previous night. The pain was so intense and Murdoc just kept making it worse, grinding the broken bones together. After a moment, Mac's scream cut off into a harsh sob, which was overtaken by Murdoc's moan of pleasure.

"That is such music to my ears, Angus," he said. "Let's have another one, shall we?"

Mac weakly protested, saying no and trying to pull away without moving his broken leg, but as usual, Murdoc didn't care. He only grabbed Mac's other leg, and broke it just like he broke the first one, and Mac released the same screaming sob. Mac couldn't control the sobs that began to wrack his frame. The pain was just so intense and all Murdoc did was make it worse. He could feel Murdoc's fingernails turn to claws, and felt fur as the alpha changed into a full wolf.

No. Absolutely not. Mac could not take this on top of having his legs broken. Screw pride and dignity, he couldn't do this, he just couldn't.

"No, don't, please don't," he began to cry out, shaking his head back and forth. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Murdoc's clothes discarded on the floor beside them. "No, stop, Jack!" he screamed. He couldn't help it, he needed Jack there, Jack could save him, could get him out of this. "I don't want this, don't do this, please don't-"

Mac's cries were abruptly cut off by Murdoc growling on top of him. He ceased all movement, his head falling to his arms. All he could do was cry, almost silently. He couldn't stop it. It was going to be even worse than the previous night and he couldn't even fight back. Once again, the pain began, and Mac couldn't even scream. Maybe it didn't even matter, his throat was so torn up from all the screaming he'd done the past day. Screw werewolf healing, he'd been screaming so much that it didn't even matter.

Mac just continued to cry softly, even as the pain intensified and Murdoc kept growling, and even as he smelled something that he began to think he may never smell again. It was Jack. He could smell Jack, Jack was there, Jack was coming to save him, he needed Jack, Jack heard him and he was going to save him.

But Murdoc was too caught up in his pleasure that he didn't seem to smell him like Mac could. He wasn't stopping, or slowing down, or doing anything but causing Mac endless pain. Mac wanted to call out for Jack again, to tell them where they were, but he still couldn't even move or talk. All he could do was continue to cry, and knowing that he was so incredibly helpless only caused him to cry more. Jack was too late.

...

From the moment Jack heard that scream, he knew it was Mac. Sadly, he'd heard the kid screaming enough to know when it was him. That scream was the soundtrack to his nightmares, and this certainly was a living one.

"Go, now!" he shouted at Cage and Riley. The three of them began to run towards the house, screwing the element of surprise. That didn't matter. All that mattered was getting to Mac in time. Weapons drawn, the three of them ran up to the house and burst the front door down. Right as they did so, they heard another scream. It was weaker, and more hoarse, but it was still undoubtedly Mac. "Riley, call for backup," he muttered, knowing that she would hear him. He didn't have time to do it himself. He needed to clear the house and find his kid. But room after room he cleared, and all he found was dust.

"No, stop, Jack!"

Jack turned immediately towards the cry, his heart racing with fury. This bastard was hurting his kid, his kid was crying out for him, and he couldn't find him.

"Mac!" he called out. He got no answer. Jack began retracing his steps through the house, stopping when a floorboard creaked in just the wrong way. He quickly kneeled down and pulled it off with ease, an ease that meant it was designed to hide something. Inside the floorboard was a lever. Jack pulled it, and the wall slid over a few feet, revealing a door. He knew the inside of the house wasn't matching the outside. "Cage! Riley!" he called out. He needed them to get to that part of the house fast, because he wasn't waiting for them before he went in and saved his kid.

With a deep breath, Jack leveled his weapon, and opened the door. What he saw took his breath away. It was his worst nightmare come to life. There was his kid, sobbing, chained to the floor, with a massive wolf on top of him, forcing him to mate. The wolf had barely stopped before Jack was firing round after round of silver bullets into him. Jack trusted his aim, and knew that he would never hit his kid. The force of the bullets took the alpha to the ground, and off Mac, but Jack knew better than to just assume that the wolf was dead. Alphas were tough, and silver bullets weren't always enough to take them down. Jack emptied his mag into the wolf, and it wasn't getting up.

"Jack," came a soft whimper from below him. Jack turned towards Mac, who was still chained to the ground and bleeding. Something was very wrong with his legs too. They were swollen, and Jack had a sickening feeling that that was where the twin screams had come from.

"It's okay," Jack said, his own voice breaking. "I'm here now. I've got you." Jack swooped down and knelt right in front of his kid. "I've got you, I've got you." He took a gentle hold of Mac's head and wiped a few of his tears away. "It's okay, it's okay."

But it couldn't end that easily. One moment, Jack was holding Mac steady and telling him that everything was gonna be okay, and the next he was on the ground, a giant wolf on top of him. Jack quickly shifted into a full wolf as well, which clearly surprised the alpha, but he didn't even have time to knock him off balance before another blur was tackling the alpha off him. Jack quickly got up onto his paws, trying to ignore the odd feeling of his clothes on his fur. The full shift made his shoes fall off, but the rest of his clothes were awkwardly hanging on his body. Ignoring the strange feeling, Jack turned his attention back to the alpha, who was now tussling with a shifted Cage. Her werewolf features were sharp, and the strength she displayed was in sharp contrast with her thin arms. But it didn't matter. All that mattered was Mac.

Jack turned back to look at his kid, who was still looking up at him, crying softly, as the fight raged on behind him. But Cage wouldn't be able to hold her own against a full wolf for very long, so Jack tore his gaze away from Mac and joined the fray. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Riley - also shifted - with Mac. Good. She would take care of him and protect him from the fight. Because that's what big sisters did.

Jack pounced on the black wolf, diverting his attention away from Cage. They tussled in a blur of claws and fangs and pure rage - Jack's rage for the wolf who tortured his kid, and the alpha's rage for the wolf that was trying to take his prize away from him. Jack knew he'd been bit and scratched and was definitely bleeding, but it didn't matter, because he could dish it out just as well. The fight dragged on, but Jack knew he and Cage had the upper hand. Clearly, the alpha knew that too, because he quickly lunged at Cage and sank his teeth into her torso.

Cage let out a small scream before clawing at the alpha enough to force him away, but she wasn't getting back up. Jack didn't have the time to see if she was okay. All of his attention was on the black wolf. The two faced each other, growling and baring their teeth. Jack had all of his attention too, and that was the wolf's undoing. Jack didn't flinch when a gun went off again, twice, three times, hitting the alpha in the neck and head with all three shots. He fell to the ground once again, and this time, he didn't get up. The wolf shifted back into human form, and Jack had to keep himself from lunging on top of him and making him suffer the same way the wolf had made Mac suffer. That wouldn't help Mac.

Jack shifted back into human form himself and turned to his team. Cage was still alive, and also now human, but she was bleeding heavily. Jack grabbed the shirt on the ground and tossed it to her.

"Put pressure on that," he said. Cage was highly capable, and could take care of herself. Besides, Mac was always going to be more important to him. Jack knew that sounded uncaring, but he didn't care about what others thought.

He turned again to Riley and Mac, who was no longer chained to the ground.

"I found the keys in the pocket of those pants," Riley said, nodding towards the pair of pants on the ground as she holstered her gun. She quickly turned her attention back to Mac, who remained silent.

"Hey, kiddo," Jack said gently. He knelt back down right in front of his kid and assessed the damage as well as he could. Mac had clearly been assaulted multiple times, and the wound on his shoulder was even worse. His legs were messed up, and clearly were causing Mac excruciating pain, but they would heal on their own within a few days. "Riles, can you stay with the monster and keep him in check, please?" he asked her, keeping his voice light and gentle, and not taking his eyes off Mac. She nodded and moved towards the fallen alpha, and tossed the pants over him, just to cover him up a bit. His modesty didn't matter to them, but no one wanted to see that.

Carefully, Jack pulled off his own shirt. "Do you want this?" he asked Mac. The kid nodded.

"I can't get up," he said, his voice breaking. "He broke my legs, and he- and he-" he broke off again with another sob before quickly containing himself. "He made it so I can't move, Jack."

Jack tried to stay calm. He couldn't lash out and scream right now. He'd already taken care of the alpha, and now, his kid needed him to be a rock. So a rock he would be.

"It's okay, bud. It's okay, I'm gonna take care of you. It's all gonna be okay," Jack said. He scooted himself closer to Mac, and held the kid as close to him as he could. "You just put your arms around me, and hold on to this shirt, and let me do the rest, okay?" Mac nodded. Jack gently took the kid's arms and brought them up around his neck. Mac hooked them together, and held on with more strength that Jack expected him to have. He kept Jack's shirt in his grasp, but Jack wouldn't be able to cover him with it until he was fully in his arms, which was going to be difficult from Mac's position on his stomach. "This is probably gonna hurt, but I have to do it, okay? I have to get you out of here and back to Phoenix medical, alright? You just hold on, don't you dare let go, and I'm gonna lift you up, okay, kiddo?" Jack asked. He needed to do this no matter what Mac said, but he really needed to get Mac's consent with everything, after what had been done to him. The more in control he could make Mac feel, the better.

"Okay," Mac said with another nod. Jack could see that he was trying to put on a brave face, but he knew the kid was still falling apart inside.

"Okay, I'm so sorry kid." Before he gave Mac the chance to reply, Jack stood up, drawing a pained scream from the kid in his arms as Mac was dragged upright with him. Jack quickly hooked an arm behind the kid's knees and scooped him up fully in his arms. Mac just buried his face in Jack's shoulder as he cried, and all Jack could do was whisper reassurances in his ear, telling him that everything was going to be okay, that he was safe now, that that bastard alpha couldn't ever hurt him again. Jack just hoped that was true.

After a minute, Mac tossed the shirt he was holding over himself with a flick of his wrist, and quickly covered himself with it. He leaned back into Jack's shoulder, and took slow, deep breaths.

"Good, kiddo, good," Jack murmured. "You're gonna be just fine, I've got you now. You're safe with me, you're safe with Jack."

Mac only nodded and held on tighter.

"She's not doing well."

Jack turned as carefully as he could with the kid in his arms towards Riley. The alpha was still passed out - or maybe dead, but probably just passed out - on the floor, and Riley was kneeling over Cage, putting as much pressure on her wound as she could. All of their other wounds were superficial, but this one was not.

"I'll be fine, you just get MacGyver out of here," Cage said through gritted teeth.

"No, you're not fine," Riley insisted. She looked up at Mac and Jack, her eyes watering when she looked at the blond in Jack's arms. "But she's right that you need to get him out of here."

"I can't leave you guys alone with that monster," Jack said, shaking his head. He wanted to get Mac out of there just as much as the rest of them, but he couldn't leave them alone with the alpha either.

"Jack, we'll be fine. I'm not even out of bullets, and backup is almost here. Go," Riley said sternly.

Another soft cry from the kid in his arms made up Jack's mind. "Okay, you be sharp," he said with a nod, then turned and began to slowly walk out of the room, and out of the old farmhouse. "You're gonna be okay, kid, I've got you. I'm never lettin' you go. You're gonna be okay, it's all gonna be okay, I promise," Jack kept repeating the whole way to his GTO. As carefully as he could, Jack reached up with his foot and got the passenger door open. He really didn't want to set Mac down, but he couldn't drive and hold him at the same time. "Hey, bud?" he calmly got Mac's attention.

"Yeah?" Mac softly answered, not letting up on the grip he had on Jack.

"I want you to pick between these two options, okay?"

Mac flinched heavily and his breathing began to pick up again.

"What's wrong? Kiddo, what's goin' on?" Jack asked. What had happened? What was causing this sudden panic? Jack looked around and saw nothing that should be inducing it.

"It's nothing," Mac quickly replied. "I'm okay," he insisted. It sounded like he was forcing his breathing to slow down, and had his eyes squeezed shut tight.

Jack sighed. Clearly it was not nothing and Mac was not okay, but he figured it wasn't the right time to push on the subject - that time would come later.

"Okay," he said gently, accentuating his words with a gentle squeeze where his hands were holding his kid. It seemed to help ground him. "I can either set you down in the passenger seat, and start driving back to Phoenix, or we can wait until backup gets here, and one of them can drive while I hold you in the back. It's entirely up to you, okay?" Jack asked. He could feel Mac nodding against him.

After a minute, Mac responded, "can we wait?" He sounded ashamed to even be asking, which only made Jack's blood boil. He knew that Mac's aversion to openly asking for the physical comfort he craved was mostly due to his harsh upbringing by his negligent and borderline abusive father, but this wasn't the time to get upset about it.

"Of course we can wait, bud. I was actually hoping you'd say that," Jack said in a light tone, hoping to make Mac smile. He couldn't tell if it worked or not, but at least he got to hold on to his kid. He never wanted to let him go.

Jack sat down in the passenger seat, still holding Mac up against him. The warm summer breeze was a comfort on his bare chest, and he imagined that Mac felt quite the same. Carefully, he reached over for his keys and started the car, turning the heat up. He could feel Mac hold onto him even tighter. Jack took a deep breath. Everything was going to be okay. He had his kid back, so everything was going to be okay.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are finally nearing the end. There should only be one more chapter after this, I think. As always, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review!!!

Mac must have dozed off there, in Jack's lap, while they waited for backup to arrive, because one moment, he was sitting there with his head tucked into Jack's lap, while the man sat on the edge of the passenger's seat, with a warm summer breeze causing him to nod off, and the next moment, he was being set down in the back, with Jack quickly climbing in next to him. Jack wasted no time in gently pulling Mac back into his lap, Mac's head resting gently on Jack's legs. He sighed in contentment as Jack began to gently card his fingers through Mac's hair. Everything was going to be okay. Jack was there. He was finally safe.

"How's he doing?" asked a calm, gentle voice from the driver's seat. It was Riley.

"I think he's gonna be okay," Jack softly replied, not halting in his ministrations. Mac relaxed even more into Jack's arms, reveling in the comfort and safety they provided.

But Riley being the one about to drive them back to Phoenix meant that she was no longer with Murdoc, keeping him in check. "What about Murdoc?" he quietly asked. "Did you get him?" He turned his head slightly, just enough so he could see Riley better.

"Murdoc? Is that the black wolf's name?" Jack asked. Mac just nodded. He wasn't exactly in the mood for talking about him. "Yeah, kiddo, backup's got him, and they're loadin' him up to take him to a blacksite as we speak. He's never gonna be able to hurt you again, okay?" Jack held him even tighter to reassure him.

"As long as I stay at least five miles away from the blacksite," Mac muttered in reply. That's how an alpha's influence worked. Their influence and ability to control their betas got weaker the farther away they got, and that ability faded entirely at about five miles.

"That blacksite is in the middle of nowhere, far away from everything," a new voice said. It was the blonde woman who had taken on Murdoc. In his exhaustion, Mac hadn't even noticed that she was in the passenger seat. He should've been able to notice her with his enhanced hearing and smell, but he figured he was too injured and in pain to really be paying enough attention to anything but Jack. "You're going to be fine." Her voice was strained, and Mac hadn't forgotten that Murdoc had nearly ripped her intestines out. She needed to get to Phoenix medical just as badly as he did. It wasn't as if they could explain to a normal hospital why she was healing so rapidly.

"Yeah, kid, everything's gonna be okay, it's all gonna be fine, I promise. I've got you now and I'm not leavin' you," Jack affirmed. Mac snuggled into his arms as much as he could without jostling his broken legs.

Despite his exhaustion, he couldn't fall back asleep. Every single pothole they hit on the way back to Phoenix sent pain roaring through his body, especially his legs. He squeezed Jack tighter with each one, and the man just kept whispering reassurances to him, stroking his hair, and reminding him that everything was going to be okay. Mac tried as hard as he could not to cry out, but one particularly bad pothole had him yelping in pain, and sent a tear down his face.

"I'm so sorry, Mac, I couldn't swerve around it," Riley said, sounding genuinely sorrowful about it. But Mac didn't blame her. She was arguably a better driver than Jack, so if she hit a pothole, Mac knew that it was unavoidable.

"It's okay, I'm right here, we're gonna be there in no time, it's gonna be okay, just focus on me, okay?" Jack repeated, wiping away the tear that fell and continuing to card his fingers through Mac's hair. Mac was breathing heavily, but he tried to calm himself down. He'd done enough crying to last him a lifetime, and although he knew he probably wouldn't be done with it for a while - since what happened to him was worse than any op he had ever been on, and worse than anything in his childhood or Afghanistan - he could at least control himself in that moment. Jack was there, Riley was there, even that blonde chick he didn't know was there. He couldn't cry in front of someone he didn't know. That was unacceptable.

With a deep breath, Mac nodded, and tried to relax a little more. Jack was right. Everything was going to be fine. So every time they hit a pothole, Mac grit his teeth, held on to Jack, and told himself that everything was going to be fine. His team had come for him, and yeah, Murdoc had done some serious damage, but he really was going to be fine. Jack was there now, so of course he was going to be fine. He was always fine.

Finally, they reached Phoenix, and even though that likely meant extreme pain on the way to medical, at least there wouldn't be any more potholes.

"You ready, bud?" Jack asked. He was still carding his fingers through Mac's hair. He hadn't stopped for a second throughout the drive, and seemed to be waiting to stop for Mac's say so.

"Let's get this over with," Mac muttered. He took a deep breath and steeled himself. Oh so slowly, Jack eased himself out from under Mac, and got out of the car. Out of the corner of his eye, Mac could see the blonde woman already on a stretcher, and another stretcher waiting for him. Normally, he would refuse such a thing, but he knew that even trying to refuse it would be a losing battle. At least there was a blanket folded on the end. Jack would never let him stay so vulnerable like he currently was.

The move from the car to the stretcher was just as excruciating as Mac thought it would be, but Jack was there, and he didn't complain, no matter how hard Mac squeezed his hand to ride out the pain. Mac bit his lip to keep from screaming, bit it so hard that he tasted blood. He chose to ignore the look of sorrow in Jack's eyes when his partner saw his bleeding lip. Besides, it would be healed in minutes, probably. The moment Mac was settled on the stretcher, Jack laid the blanket out over him. Mac didn't look at anyone as he immediately clutched it as tightly to himself as he could. He didn't need to see their looks of pity as they realized why he was so desperate to be covered. He didn't even look at Jack, but he did still keep a tight hold on the man's hand. Mac didn't care how childish it was. He didn't want Jack to leave. As long as Jack was there, he was safe. As long as Jack was there, no one could hurt him. Jack would never let anyone hurt him.

As the Phoenix medical staff wheeled him inside and into an exam room, where he would wait for the CMO, Mac kept his focus on his hand intertwined with Jack's the whole time. He didn't look at the doctors, and he definitely didn't look at other agents who happened to be in there. He didn't want anyone to know what had happened to him. They would look at him differently, they would treat him differently, and they definitely wouldn't think he belonged in Phoenix anymore. What if some of those agents who already didn't like him tried to hurt him again? Some of them used to try to get him alone and turn him themselves while he was still human, so what if they decided that since someone else had already used him, he was fair game to them?

"It's okay," Jack whispered. He began carding his fingers through Mac's hair once again. Mac's shaking immediately subsided. When had he even started to shake? "You're gonna be okay, I'm here, and I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." Jack moved from the chair he'd been sitting in beside Mac's bed to sitting on the side of it, and Mac unconsciously leaned in closer towards him. "I'm never gonna leave you, I promise."

Mac took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He shouldn't be freaking out. Jack wasn't going to let anyone hurt him. It was going to be okay.

"Hey, bud?" Jack asked gently. Mac looked up at him and made eye contact, nodding slightly to signal him to continue. "What was that about, earlier? When I got you out of there, and into the car, and I asked you if you'd rather wait for backup or leave then, and you kind of panicked, what was that about?" Jack was looking at him with nothing but love in his eyes, but Mac couldn't stop his from filling with tears once again.

"It was Murdoc, he-" Mac broke off, and quickly wiped at his eyes and took a deep breath. He could keep it together, he really could. Mac continued in as slow and steady of a voice as he could, taking each word at a time to keep himself from falling apart. "He asked me to pick what he would do to me that night. He didn't-" He stopped to wipe his eyes again and take another deep breath. Mac broke off eye contact with Jack and looked up at the ceiling for a second. "He didn't want me to fight him, that night, because I was fighting him the whole time the night before when he- when he- when he did it, so he wanted to, 'change it up'. So he gave me two options." Mac briefly made eye contact with Jack before looking at the ground. "He said that he could either force me to cooperate by using his influence as my- as my alpha, or he could break my legs so it would hurt too much to fight. I didn't answer, so he did both." Mac didn't look up at Jack, not even when the man moved closer and gripped his hand again. "So when you told me to pick two options, I just," Mac sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, kiddo, no, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry about," Jack insisted. "Absolutely none of this is your fault, none of it, and anyone who says so has to deal with me."

Mac was saved from having to reply by the doctor knocking on the door, and coming into the room.

"Agent MacGyver, Agent Dalton," he greeted. "I'm sure you remember me." Dr. Gromley had worked with both of them multiple times.

"Then I'm sure you know there's no point in asking me to leave," Jack answered gruffly, still resting his hand on top of Mac's.

Gromley sighed. "Yes, trying to remove you from MacGyver's side would just be wasting time that could be spent making him comfortable for the few days while he heals." He cleared his throat, as though he was about to say something that would make them uncomfortable. "I know this entire ordeal has likely been the worst thing you've ever had to endure, but due to your new status as a werewolf, we don't have to check for any sexually transmitted diseases, since your system will destroy them within hours, and since Murdoc is also a wolf, it is highly unlikely that he would have transmitted any to you anyway." Mac looked back down at the ground, away from the doctor's eyes, but nodded. At least that was one good thing about this. He could feel Jack squeezing his hand. "Your legs, however, in order to assure that they heal correctly, will need to be x-rayed. As long as the breaks are clean, we can simply brace your legs, and they should be as good as new within two days. The one possible issue is the bite that turned you. I am aware that the alpha continually made the wound worse, and since that wound will scar anyway, we need to assess the damage, and make sure that it will heal as well as it can. Does all of that make sense?"

Mac briefly looked up at the doctor, and nodded, before glancing back over at Jack, and then back at the ground.

"I've brought in this medical gown for you as well. We figured you would rather change into it with Agent Dalton's help, rather than the nurses," Gromley said, handing the folded gown to Jack.

"Thank you," Mac muttered. He'd definitely been right. There was no way that he was letting a bunch of nurses he barely knew help him put on that hideous hospital clothing. He wished he could just have Jack send Riley to his locker to grab some clothes from his go-bag, but he knew that wouldn't fly. Besides, it was only two days. He'd been forced to stay in medical for a lot longer than that before. He could survive two days.

"A nurse will be in to take you in for x-rays in just a few minutes," Gromley said with a smile, then excused himself.

Jack looked down at the folded hospital gown in his hands, then at Mac, and sighed. "We don't know how soon that nurse is comin' in, so we better do this fast, bud," he said apologetically.

"Okay," Mac muttered. Hesitantly, he pulled the blanket down from his chin all the way to his waist. He would not move it beyond there. That just wasn't happening. With Jack's help, he sat up, and let the man slip the gown on, and tie the strings in the back. It wasn't much, but at least he was slightly more covered now. They would be taking it off right after the x-rays anyway in order to examine his shoulder wound, but at least he had some semblance of clothing on.

Before Mac could lay back down, Jack pulled him in close. Mac leaned into the hug, bringing his arms up around Jack's neck and burying his face in his partner's shoulder. It took every ounce of willpower he had not to cry. He had Jack, he was safe, and he was going to be fine. He would not cry.

Jack began rubbing soothing circles on his back and gently caressing his hair. "It's okay," he whispered. "It's all gonna be okay. I'm gonna take care of you, you're gonna be okay, I'm here."

Mac forced his head into Jack's shoulder even more. As it turned out, he was going to cry. Jack just continued to whisper reassurances in his ear, and Mac just held on tight. But Jack was right. As long as he held on to him, it really was going to be okay.

...

Jack held his kid's hand throughout the x-rays, and while they put the braces on his legs. They were clean breaks. As it turned out, Murdoc was very good at applying just the right about of pressure to break a bone without breaking the skin or doing any other serious damage. Just the thought of that monster putting his hands on Mac and snapping his legs filled Jack with fury. Mac was such a sweet kid and he didn't deserve any of this. If Jack had it his way, he would go to that blacksite where the alpha was being held, and rip out that wolf's throat with his teeth. That monster deserved to die for what he did to Mac.

Jack held his kid's hand throughout the cleaning and wrapping of the bite on his shoulder too. Mac just squeezed Jack's hand as he rode out the pain of the cleaning, forcing his head into Jack's shoulder as Dr. Gromley did his best to clean it out. It took far longer than Jack thought it should have, but then again, anything that caused his kid pain always took too long in his opinion.

Finally, once it was cleaned out, Mac wiped at his eyes and sat up. Jack could feel a slight dampness on his shoulder, but he would never draw attention to it and make Mac feel even worse than the kid already did. The wound was wrapped with gauze and tightly bandaged in place.

"I think we got this just in time," Dr. Gromley said. "If it had gotten any worse, then there would be an even worse risk of infection. But I think it's gonna heal up just fine. I'll let you be alone for now. A nurse should be in sometime to check on you in the morning," he finished with a smile, then walked out, drawing the curtain closed behind him.

Jack pulled Mac closer to him, letting the kid snuggle right up against him. Jack would not be moving, no matter what. He was not leaving his kid ever again. Mac just snuggled right in, gripping Jack's shirt - Gromley had provided him with a new one - in one hand, and the blanket closer to himself with the other.

"You don't need to hold onto this with a death grip," Jack softly said. He gently took Mac's hand that was white-knuckling the blanket and loosened his grip, then just held Mac's hand in his larger one. "No one is gonna take this blanket from you, okay? No one is gonna do anything you don't want them to, I promise, okay?"

With a shaky breath, Mac nodded, and squeezed Jack's hand tighter. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his eyes downcast.

Oh no, that was absolutely not acceptable. Mac should not have to apologize for wanting to stay covered. That was not okay.

"Kiddo, no, you don't have anything to apologize for. None of this is your fault, and if you want to hold on to the blanket tighter, you can," Jack affirmed. He began to rub Mac's back and pull him a bit closer. He wanted Mac to feel as safe as he could. "You don't have anything to be sorry for, alright? It's all okay, I promise."

Mac nodded into Jack's shoulder, and forced himself impossibly closer to Jack. After just a few minutes, his breathing had evened out, signaling to Jack that he had fallen asleep there, snuggled up to him. That was good. Mac needed good rest after all that he'd been through, and Jack hadn't been planning on moving either. He would only move if Mac asked him too, and he doubted that the kid would be doing that any time soon.

Only a few minutes after that, Jack noticed that he was beginning to nod off as well. At first, he fought it - he needed to stay awake, stay alert, and protect Mac from anything that might come in - but eventually, he too fell pray to the exhaustion off his constant worry for his kid, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Mac didn't get as lucky. Jack awoke some time later - he wasn't paying attention to the clock - due to Mac moving restlessly beside him. The kid kept flinching and twitching, and it based on what Jack could feel, the kid was crying too.

"No," Mac murmured. "No, please, I can't do it again." Jack began gently combing his fingers through Mac's hair and calming shushing him, but to no avail. "I don't want it, please don't, it hurts, please, please stop, please!"

"Hey, kid, it's okay," Jack said, trying to shake Mac awake a bit. It wasn't working. Mac was only getting more agitated, and he wasn't waking up. He wasn't protesting anymore, he was just crying more and more, and it sounded like he was in pain. "Come on, Mac, wake up," Jack said, shaking Mac a little bit more.

Mac awoke with a gasp, immediately sitting up, then let out a small cry of pain as the sudden movement jarred his broken legs.

"It's okay," Jack whispered. "It's okay, you're safe now, that bastard can't hurt you anymore, I promise."

Mac took a deep breath, then turned to look at Jack with tears still in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to wake you up." He wiped the tears from his eyes, then closed them. A few still escaped.

"Oh, kiddo, it's okay," Jack insisted, gently pulling Mac back down onto his shoulder. "Don't be sorry. You've been through so much, and I want you to wake me up when you need me to be there, okay?"

"This is all my fault," Mac muttered into Jack's shoulder, gripping the man's shirt with all that he had.

"Not a single moment of this is your fault, okay?" Jack said, trying to keep the fury from his voice. Not a single bit of this was the kid's fault. How could he possibly be blaming himself for getting kidnapped and assaulted? But he couldn't show him how mad he was. It wasn't Mac's fault that he thought it was his own fault, it was his bastard of a father. Jack had never met the man, and he likely never would, due to the fact that he'd abandoned his child, never to see him again, but he'd instilled in the kid that it was always Mac's fault. That was a lesson that Jack was still trying to correct. But getting mad wouldn't help Mac. Gentleness and love would.

"But it is," Mac said, his voice shaking. "If I'd never fought with Bozer, I never would've gone for a run in those woods, and I never would've gotten bit, and then I never would've been forced to go with him, and none of this would've happened."

Jack didn't want to admit it, but he was pretty sure that even if Mac hadn't gone out that night, all of this still would've happened. Based on Cage's profile of Murdoc, the alpha had been waiting for Mac specifically. It wasn't random. That meant that somehow, someway, Murdoc still would've found and turned Mac, and he still would've taken the boy. But would it make it better or worse to tell the kid that? Jack sighed. He had a feeling that deep down, Mac already knew.

"Kid, I think we both know it would've," he said gently.

"I know," Mac muttered. "Murdoc told me that I was the one he'd been waiting for." He buried his face more in Jack's shoulder, as if doing that would keep his safer from the alpha that still haunted his mind. That would likely always haunt his mind.

"Well if you know, then you know it wasn't your fault," Jack pointed out. He began to run his fingers through Mac's hair again. That was always a surefire way to keep him calm, and feeling safe. Because as long as Jack was there, nothing could happen to him.

Mac was quiet for a moment before responding quietly, "yeah, I guess maybe you're right."

"Yeah, kid, you know I'm right," Jack replied, keeping his tone light. "I never thought I'd hear you say that." Despite everything, that earned him a soft chuckle from the kid in his arms.

"Still," Mac continued, deflating again. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

Jack sighed. "Bud, this was not the first time one of us has woken the other up with a nightmare, and it won't be the last. Are you ever mad at me when I wake you up because I'm havin' a nightmare?"

"Well no, of course not-"

"Exactly," Jack said, cutting him off. "If you're never mad at me for it, then why would you ever think that I could ever be mad at you for it? Have I ever been mad at you for it before?"

Mac shifted in the hospital bed a bit before answering. "I guess not," he said quietly.

"I could never be mad at you, okay? Now just try to get some more sleep." Mac abruptly turned his head to look up Jack with wide, scared eyes. "I know, but I'm gonna be right here. I'm not gonna let him hurt you. If you wake up with a nightmare again, I'm gonna be right here to chase it away. I will always chase monsters away from you." Jack held his kid closer, letting him know in every way he could that he was never going to be alone. Never again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I've finished another multi-chapter fic. That's so insane to me, but I've loved every minute of it. Part of me thinks that this is an abrupt ending, but the writer part of me knows that this feels right, and I hope you readers agree. You can expect a one shot about the first mission Mac and Jack worked for DXS that they failed, maybe even this week. After that, I'll be writing a crossover with Kingsman that I've been wanting to write for like a year and a half lol. That will be mid-length, I think. Anyway, I've loved writing this, and I hope you've loved reading this. As always, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review :)

ONE WEEK LATER

Mac breathed in the beautiful smells of the forest. He was back in the same woods where Murdoc first attacked him and turned him into what he was now: a werewolf. But this time, he was there on his own volition, and he had Jack with him, and that made all the difference in the world.

The birds were chirping, all singing their songs of summer, singing sweetly to their hearts' content. Mac swore he could hear each individual bird, each one with a song more beautiful than the next. The wildflowers smelled more amazing than Mac could ever remember them smelling, and their colors were full and bright, brighter than Bozer's sweaters. Even the trees had a scent that Mac could easily pick out and distinguish from each other, and the recent rain just brought it out even more. The soft, warm, breeze made the leaves rustle against each other, and Mac couldn't imagine a more beautiful moment. All thoughts of Murdoc and what he did to him were far from his mind, where they couldn't hurt him or this beautiful day.

"You were right," he said softly. "This was a good idea." Jack had insisted that Mac go back there where it all started, and see something different in it. Mac had been cooped up in the hospital for two days, where he barely did much more than stare at the wall, even when Riley and Bozer and Matty and even Patty and Cage visited him. He hadn't been hungry, but knew he should eat. Jack insisted that he did, and even cut up a steak for them to share. He'd give one bite to Mac, then another to himself, until they finished it. Mac was really glad that Jack was the only one there for that. He'd been discharged soon after, then stayed at home for five more days. Having werewolf healing, his legs were fully healed by the time he went home, and everything else Murdoc had done to him had healed as well, at least physically. But it left Mac conflicted. Part of him wanted to stay home for the rest of his life, with Jack to ensure that he was always safe. Going back to those woods was the first time that Mac had left his house since getting back. But on the other hand, being around Bozer had been difficult. His roommate was still getting used to the whole werewolf thing, and it had been impossible to hide what Murdoc did to him - screaming in the night tended to do that kind of thing - and although Bozer didn't treat him like a different person, he was always hovering, and it was different than the way that Jack hovered. Mac couldn't take any more of it, so Jack suggested that they go back to the woods, telling him that he could get some closure, and he could experience more of what it really was to be a werewolf.

"Of course I was right," Jack said with a smile, gently laying his arm across Mac's shoulders. "You have these super senses now, you have to put them to good use." Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After looking up at the blue sky he could see through the trees, Mac did the same. It was beautiful.

They kept walking along the trail, and before Mac knew it, they were at the exact spot where Murdoc first attacked him. Mac stopped in his tracks, and stared at the tree where he'd leaned against while calling Jack. He could feel Murdoc's teeth digging into his shoulder, and he could feel that phantom pain that Matty had gently told him would never go away. Mac closed his eyes, and breathed softly. Now he could feel Jack's arm across his shoulders, pulling him close. Everything was fine. Everything was going to be okay.

Mac opened his eyes, and looked past the tree and down the trail. He glanced at Jack, and smiled, noticing that the man had partly shifted. Jack's eyes had turned amber, and his fangs were prominent in his smile. Mac smiled wider, letting his own fangs grow and blue eyes turn effervescent. He turned back and looked straight ahead. Yeah, everything was going to be okay.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [won't let you choke (on the noose around your neck)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20842094) by [violetvaria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetvaria/pseuds/violetvaria)




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